7 arrested as Hong Kong customs foils contraband cigarette smuggling activities worth HK$100 million
“To avoid detection, [international cigarette smuggling] syndicates are using a ruse called the merry-go-round to keep illegal tobacco products circulating through different countries before being smuggled to their final destinations,” the source said.
Apart from the mainland, Taiwan and Thailand, he said the syndicates had also used such tactics for other jurisdictions, including Cambodia, Malaysia, South Korea and Vietnam.
During the two-week operation against seaborne smuggling activities, officers from customs’ revenue crimes investigation bureau selected five containers for inspection.
Hong Kong customs seizes HK$200 million worth of illegal cigarettes in 2 operations
Senior Inspector Adam Lam Wai-kit said three of the containers were from the Nansha port in Guangdong province, while the remaining two came from Taiwan and Thailand.
About 28 million untaxed cigarettes, with an estimated street value of HK$100 million, had been found in the five containers, he added.
“We believe the illegal tobacco products were intended for the Hong Kong and overseas markets to meet demand during the Christmas and New Year holiday season,” Lam said.
The syndicates took advantage of the busy seaborne logistics services before the festive season to smuggle the contraband and evade detection, he said, adding they hoped “their cargoes will receive less scrutiny at a control point upon entering the city”.
During the operation, customs officers arrested seven men on suspicion of dealing with illicit cigarettes – an offence punishable by up to two years in jail and a HK$1 million fine.
The seven suspects, aged between 24 and 63, included two directors of a logistics company and five drivers. They were released on bail pending further investigation.
The senior inspector said customs was still investigating the origin and intended destinations of the tobacco products and did not rule out further arrests.
Illegal cigarettes worth HK$700 million seized since Hong Kong’s tobacco tax hike
The latest haul has brought the total value of the contraband seized so far this year to HK$2.21 billion. The 642 million untaxed cigarettes customs seized this year would have generated HK$1.51 billion in tax revenue if they had been imported legally.
Customs officers seized 732 million illegal cigarettes worth HK$2.01 billion in the whole of last year – the biggest annual haul since records began two decades ago.