Hong Kong customs seizes 8,000kg of smuggled tobacco at Shenzhen Bay checkpoint
Hong Kong customs officers intercepted a medium-sized truck at the Shenzhen Bay control point on 12 October and seized about 8,000 kilograms of unmanifested, duty-unpaid manufactured tobacco with an estimated market value of HK$53.4 million. A 51-year-old local driver was arrested, and investigation
Hong Kong customs officers have seized about 8,000 kilograms of unmanifested and duty-unpaid manufactured tobacco at the Shenzhen Bay control point, with an estimated market value of about HK$53.4 million, the department said on Tuesday.
The seizure, made on Monday, also carries an estimated duty value of about HK$32.04 million. A 51-year-old local male driver was arrested in connection with the case.
Acting on intelligence analysis, officers intercepted a medium-sized truck at the Shenzhen Bay control point which was declared to be carrying plastic wood flooring. Upon inspection, they found about 300 boxes of manufactured tobacco that were not listed on the cargo manifest and had not had duty paid.
The driver was arrested on the spot. The case remains under investigation, and customs said officers would continue to trace the source and destination of the tobacco, adding that further arrests were not ruled out.
The Shenzhen Bay control point is one of the busiest land crossings between Hong Kong and mainland China, and customs has stepped up inspections there in recent years to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities.