HK Customs seizes HK$20m in smuggled cigarettes, arrests four

Hong Kong Customs raided four suspected illicit cigarette storage sites in San Tin, Tsuen Wan and North Point on September 1, seizing about 4.25 million suspected untaxed cigarettes with an estimated market value of HK$20 million, according to local media reports citing the department's Revenue Crimes Investigation Bureau.

Four men, aged 27 to 52 and all claiming to be unemployed, were arrested. The seized cigarettes carry a duty potential of more than HK$14 million, Sing Tao Daily reported. Investigators said they believe the men were running a syndicate that took cigarette orders by phone.

Officers first raided a metal warehouse in San Tin around midday, seizing roughly 500,000 cigarettes and arresting a 31-year-old local man. That afternoon, they moved to an industrial building on Sha Tsui Road in Tsuen Wan, where two units yielded about 800,000 and 2.2 million cigarettes respectively. Two Chinese men, aged 27 and 31, were arrested there.

That evening, Customs raided a shopfront in North Point and seized a further 750,000 cigarettes, arresting a 52-year-old Chinese man, Cable News reported.

At the San Tin warehouse, officers also seized a seven-seat van and a large stack of flyers, which they believe was intended to distribute cigarettes and take orders in the Yuen Long district.

Customs said the relationship between the four men and the source of the cigarettes remain under investigation, and did not rule out further arrests. Dealing in or possessing illicit cigarettes carries a maximum penalty of a HK$2 million fine and seven years in prison under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance.