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Customs found 228 tons of undeclared Australian lobster worth 180 million yuan, 7 people arrested in search of lobster importer

2021-10-15T15:51:27.338Z


Following the implementation of new lobster quarantine regulations on Australian lobsters in October and November last year, and Australia stopped exporting lobsters to China, suspected unscrupulous groups found it profitable. Therefore, they bypassed Hong Kong and sold Australian lobsters.


Following the implementation of new lobster quarantine regulations on Australian lobsters in October and November last year, and Australia stopped exporting lobsters to China, suspected unscrupulous groups found it profitable, so they bypassed Hong Kong and smuggled Australian lobsters. To China.

The Hong Kong Customs and the Anti-smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs, Guangdong Maritime Police, Shenzhen Customs Anti-smuggling Bureau and Gongbei Customs Anti-smuggling Bureau launched a joint anti-smuggling operation code-named "JL" from July to September this year to crack down on cross-border smuggling of lobsters.


The operation detected 3 cases of lobster smuggling at sea, arrested 13 suspected persons involved, and seized a total of about 5,300 kg of suspected smuggled lobster from Australia, with an estimated market value of approximately HK$4.2 million.

Customs also raided a number of importers in Hong Kong who were suspected of deliberately falsely reporting or under-reporting the import volume of Australian lobsters, arrested 7 suspected masterminds, and discovered undeclared Australian lobsters as many as 228 tons, with a market value of about 180 million Hong Kong dollars.


Local lobster imports surge after "new quarantine regulations" Customs says it's unusual

According to the customs, the import volume of local lobster has increased significantly after the new lobster quarantine regulations, from 120 metric tons to 260 metric tons per month. It also discovered that the number of importers engaged in Australian lobster has increased from 50 to 80 since the beginning of the year, and some of them are deliberate. Falsified or under-reported the number of imported lobsters, most of which are shell companies with no industries.

The customs found that the figures were unusual and launched an in-depth investigation.

Huang Yalun, commander of the Marine Assault and Strategic Planning Group of the Port and Maritime Division, pointed out that in order to effectively stop the source of lobster smuggling, the Hong Kong Customs raided a number of importers in Hong Kong suspected of deliberately falsely reporting or under-reporting Australian lobster imports on October 12. Searched 10 local importers and arrested 7 suspected masterminds, all of whom were company directors. The undeclared Australian lobster weighed 228 metric tons and had a market value of approximately HK$180 million.

Li Yanping, Supervisor of the Special Investigation Division of the Organized Crime Investigation Division of the Customs, explained the operation mode of the smuggling syndicate. The smuggling syndicate would first airlift the lobster from Australia to the port for storage. When the time is right, the lobster would be smuggled to the shore, such as Changsha Bay or At Tai O Wharf, they were smuggled to the mainland by fishing boats and speedboats at high speed, including airports or aquatic products markets in Shenzhen or Guangzhou, and then distributed to buyers by air or land.

Supervised by Li Yanping, Special Investigation Division, Organized Crime Investigation Division, Customs.

(Photo by Cai Zhengbang)

A smuggling group was hit hard and changed its smuggling strategy

Huang Zhenfu, commander of the Special Investigation Team of the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau, described that two smuggling syndicates were smashed in the operation, and they adopted completely different routes and methods.

One of the smuggling groups first transported the lobster to the Cheung Sha Wan wharf, pretending to be sold locally, and then waited until late at night to put the lobster on a fishing boat and smuggled it to the mainland.

They passed through the southern part of Lantau Island and then transferred the lobster to another fishing boat in the waters off the boundary between Guangdong and Hong Kong. They were eventually intercepted by the Guangdong Coastal Police Bureau and found Australian lobsters with a market value of HK$1.7 million on board.

After the group was hit hard, it changed its route and transported it from the Cheung Sha Wan wharf to the western waters of Hong Kong, and then smuggled lobsters to the mainland by high-speed boats in the waters of the international airport's three tracks.

Huang Zhenfu pointed out that another smuggling group was more "cunning". They used Tai O's relatively remote location and close to the Guangdong-Hong Kong boundary to smuggle and used high-speed boats. Customs finally intercepted the group in September and found a market value of 1.1 million on board. Hong Kong dollar Australian lobster.

The operation detected 3 cases of smuggling lobster at sea, arrested 13 men, aged between 25 and 61, and seized a total of about 5,300 kilograms of suspected smuggled lobster from Australia, with an estimated market value of about HK$4.2 million.

Lobster price difference between China and Hong Kong is 1,200 yuan per kilogram

Li Yanping mentioned that after the implementation of the new lobster quarantine regulations in the Mainland and Australia stopped exporting lobsters to China, the Chinese market has a large demand for Australian lobsters. Compared with Hong Kong’s Australian lobsters, the market price was as high as 800 Hong Kong dollars per kilogram. The kilo is 2,000 Hong Kong dollars, and there is also a value-added tax.

There are smugglers who take risks to earn the difference.

She pointed out that the smuggled Australian lobsters were not properly refrigerated and did not pass the quarantine. The sanitary situation is worrying. The consumption of smuggled Australian lobsters poses a high risk to health.

01News

Source: hk1

All news articles on 2021-10-15

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