Hong Kong Customs Seize HK$4.6m in Illicit Cigarettes and Counterfeit Goods
Hong Kong Customs seized around 720,000 suspected illicit cigarettes and 2,700 suspected counterfeit items worth HK$4.6 million in Sha Tau Kok. A separate operation at Hong Kong International Airport led to the arrest of two mainland passengers carrying 8kg of suspected cannabis buds valued at HK$1.
Hong Kong Customs seized approximately 720,000 suspected illicit cigarettes and about 2,700 suspected counterfeit items during a special enforcement operation in Chung Ying Street, Sha Tau Kok, on 21 October, the agency said on 22 October. The total estimated market value of the haul is about HK$4.6 million, with the suspected illicit cigarettes carrying a duty value of about HK$2.4 million.
In a separate operation, Customs officers arrested two incoming male passengers from mainland China at Hong Kong International Airport on 22 October in two unrelated drug trafficking cases. Officers seized about eight kilogrammes of suspected cannabis buds, with a total estimated market value of about HK$1.7 million.
A power outage hit Sha Kok Mei village in Sai Kung on the evening of 22 October, disrupting electricity supply to multiple village houses and affecting about 100 households. No cause for the outage was reported.
On the editorial page, the Standard noted that Hong Kong's ambition to become a global innovation and technology hub reached a milestone on 21 October when the Office for Attracting Strategic Enterprises welcomed 18 new partners. The partners span sectors including artificial intelligence, advanced manufacturing, life and health technology, fintech and creative technology. Several boast market valuations exceeding HK$100 billion. Half of the new partners are from mainland China, with the rest from other parts of the world, underscoring Hong Kong's role as a bridge between East and West, the newspaper said.
