Hong Kong, mainland Chinese authorities seize HK$300 million in contraband, arrest suspected ringleader of smuggling syndicate
- Goods seized on both sides of the border included luxury items and cosmetics, as well as endangered species
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Most expensive items among the seized goods were 2.3 tonnes of food products with a street value of HK$71 million
Most expensive items among the seized goods were 2.3 tonnes of food products with a street value of HK$71 million
Hong Kong and mainland Chinese authorities confiscated a huge haul of luxury items and endangered species worth as much as HK$300 million (US$38.7 million) across the border in a joint operation against a smuggling syndicate, customs officials said on Thursday.
In Hong Kong, customs officers seized contraband valued at HK$120 million locally, but worth twice as much on the mainland market. The Shekou-bound haul included more than 66,000 luxury and cosmetics products, nearly 2.3 tonnes of high-value foodstuffs and more than 400 endangered plants.
Just over the border, mainland authorities seized over 2.4 tonnes of scales from endangered pangolins, worth 50 million yuan (HK$60 million), in warehouses in three provinces: Anhui, Guangdong and Guangxi.
Four men, including one believed to be the ringleader of the syndicate, were arrested in a series of raids across Hong Kong, while another 11 people, believed to be members of the group’s mainland partners, were rounded up across the border.
Customs officers made the bust and the arrests last week, but it took days to categorise, count and weigh the enormous haul, according to a law enforcement source.
