Hong Kong Customs seize 120,000 illicit cigarettes in Mong Kok flat, arrest man
Hong Kong Customs arrested a 46-year-old man and seized about 120,000 suspected illicit cigarettes worth HK$540,000 from a subdivided flat in Mong Kok. The unit was used as a storage warehouse. The man has been charged.
Hong Kong Customs arrested a 46-year-old man and seized about 120,000 suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about HK$540,000 and a duty value of about HK$400,000 in Mong Kok on Monday, 27 October.
Choi Cheuk-fun, investigation officer of the Customs Revenue Crime Investigation Bureau's Revenue Investigation Division 2, said officers identified a residential unit in Mong Kok suspected of being used as an illicit cigarette storage warehouse after days of investigation. On Monday afternoon, officers staked out the building and intercepted a man leaving who was believed to be connected to the unit.
Officers took the man back to the unit and found about 120,000 suspected illicit cigarettes inside. Initial investigations showed the man deliberately chose an older building with many residents and complex foot traffic, renting a subdivided flat as a storage point to reduce the risk of detection and disguise the illegal activity.
Customs believes the operation has dismantled an illicit cigarette storage and distribution centre active in Mong Kok. The man has been charged.
Customs reiterated that dealing with, possessing, selling or buying illicit cigarettes is illegal and carries a maximum penalty of HK$2 million and seven years' imprisonment. It will continue intelligence-led enforcement and district patrols against illicit cigarette activities.