Hong Kong customs officers seize 20 million cigarettes in biggest operation since 2007
Officers believe the HK$54 million haul of Greek cigarettes was destined to be returned to Europe as the brand is not popular in this part of the world
Hong Kong customs officers believe they have dealt a heavy blow to an international smuggling syndicate following the seizure of HK$54 million worth of contraband cigarettes which arrived from Vietnam.
The 20 million Karelia cigarettes from Greece, hidden in two shipping containers, were the city’s biggest seizure in nearly a decade, according to a senior customs official.
The two containers, whose goods were declared as plastic boxes, arrived from Haiphong in Vietnam on Friday last week before being selected for inspection at the customs cargo examination compound in Tsing Yi on Wednesday.
“Our suspicions were raised because it was rare for such plastic boxes to be exported from Vietnam,” one source with knowledge of the case said.
“Officers seized 2,000 cartons of smuggled cigarettes behind layers of cartons that carried plastic boxes inside the two shipping containers.”
“It is the biggest seizure since 2007 when 21.5 million cigarettes were confiscated in a single operation,” said Parry Wu Yan-kit, acting head of the department’s revenue and general investigation bureau.