​Hong Kong Customs yesterday (June 14) mounted an outbound anti-smuggling operation at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point and detected a suspected smuggling case involving a cross-boundary goods vehicle. A batch of suspected smuggled goods with an estimated market value of about $5.77 million was seized.
Through risk assessment, Customs officers yesterday intercepted an outbound goods vehicle declared as carrying metallic conductor paste, resistive paste, electronic ceramic powder and bead capacitor at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point. Upon inspection, it was found that the quantity of cargoes inside the cargo compartment of the goods vehicle did not match the amount declared on the export manifest, and the batch of suspected unmanifested cargo items, including about 1 050kg of electronic bonding materials, about 198kg of electronic conductive materials, about 92kg of resistive paste, about 800kg of electronic ceramic powder and about 1 764kg of bead capacitor was seized.
A 69-year-old male driver was arrested and was put on bail pending further investigation.
Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.
Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Ends/Saturday, June 15, 2024
