Hong Kong customs stubs out 20-year record HK$2 billion trade in contraband cigarettes this year
- More than 750 million cigarettes seized as smugglers try to take advantage of easing of coronavirus restrictions and resumption of trade
- HK$100 million cigarette bust made last week as smugglers tried to bring in tobacco for export to Europe and to satisfy city holiday demand
Hong Kong customs officers have seized 751 million black market cigarettes worth HK$2.07 billion (US$265 million) so far this year – the biggest annual haul since records began two decades ago.
Customs Department figures showed the number of illicit cigarettes impounded by December 29 was 76 per cent more than 2021, itself a record year.
Senior Inspector John Yip Lap-man of the customs’ revenue crimes investigation bureau on said on Friday stringent enforcement had led to several major seizures of contraband cigarettes.
He was speaking after customs officers made a major tobacco bust last Tuesday and scooped up HK$100 million worth of cigarettes.
They intercepted a barge near Yau Ma Tei Anchorage and impounded 36 million cigarettes hidden in three cargo containers.
Two men aged 43 and 56 were arrested in connection with the discovery.
