In the biggest haul of smuggled goods so far, Hong Kong customs officials seized 15 containers holding HK$1.5 billion (US$191.5 million) of contraband goods.
The containers were in Hong Kong’s Kwai Tsing Container Terminal, awaiting transshipment to China via Singapore.
Customs officers intercepted the containers just before the boxes were to be placed on a Singapore-bound ship—the smugglers resorted to a detour to disguise the destination. A manager of a logistics company instructed by an agent to facilitate the shipment has been arrested.
The territory’s Customs and Excise Department disclosed today that the containers, seized on 13 June, were labelled as carrying wood pulp. However, X-rays indicated hidden items under the many wooden boxes in each container.
The boxes were found to have held HK$230 million (US$29.4 million) of electronic goods, including mobile phones, laptops, as well as computer and phone accessories.
There were also 25 tonnes of dried seafood, including sea cucumber, shark fin and fish maw; these were valued at HK$50 million (US$6.4 million). The customs department’s officials added that 20,000 bottles of wine, primarily Australian and French red wines, valued at HK$4 million (US$510,000) and 27,000 CDs and vinyl albums worth HK$8 million (US$1 million) were also confiscated.
It is common for goods to be smuggled into China, because of the latter’s strict import regulations.
Customs officials called the haul the largest ever confiscation of duty-unpaid goods in Hong Kong and said that if the cargos had been declared, these would have been subject to Chinese import taxes of between 35% and 200%, meaning that HK$600 million (US$76.6 million) in tariffs had been evaded.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
