The Hong Kong and Macau Customs jointly conducted an anti-smuggling operation, cracked two maritime smuggling cases, seized 110 million yuan of goods, and arrested 4 persons.
Among them, Hong Kong Customs discovered for the first time that criminals smuggled a large amount of cash from Hong Kong to Macau through river boats under the disguise of goods.
The batch of the scene was only carried in cardboard boxes. Customs believed that the intention was to disguise the cash, and it was even more suspected that it was related to the proceeds of crime or money laundering. Further arrests could not be ruled out.
In addition, the customs seized a batch of red wine in the container, and the criminals tried to evade the tax of 8 million yuan.
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The new method of smuggling is transported from Hong Kong to Macau and then back to the mainland
Tang Huiyan, Acting Senior Supervisor of the Organised Crime Investigation Division of the Customs, said that Hong Kong Customs has exchanged intelligence with different law enforcement agencies to combat different types of smuggling activities. Recently, it was discovered that in order to evade detection, the smuggled goods were first transported from Hong Kong to Macau, and then transported to Macau by different methods. Mainland.
Hong Kong and Macau Customs cracked two cases of smuggling by sea. First, on June 16, Macau Customs seized electronic products, cigars and other smuggled goods worth 65 million yuan on an inland vessel sailing from Hong Kong to Macau.
On June 18, Hong Kong Customs also found an inland vessel going to Macau, and found that four of the containers contained red wine, beauty needles, electronic products and milk powder, as well as 23 million yuan in cash.
This is the first time that Customs has found that criminals smuggled a large amount of cash from Hong Kong to Macau through river boats under the disguise of cargo.
The Customs stated that any person who arrives at Hong Kong through various immigration control points and possesses currency or bearer negotiable instruments with a total value of more than 120,000 Hong Kong dollars must take the initiative to declare to the Customs in writing.
Deng Huiyan pointed out that the batch of cash was only carried in cardboard boxes. It was believed that the criminals were intending to disguise the cash, and it was even more suspected that it was the proceeds of crime or related to money laundering. Further arrests were not ruled out.
In addition, the customs seized a batch of red wine in the container, and the criminals tried to evade the tax of 8 million yuan.
Wong Chi-fai, commander of the maritime operations team of the Customs Port and Maritime Division, further described the case, saying that officers intercepted and inspected a river vessel in the waters northwest of Hong Kong at about 10 p.m. on June 18.
There were 6 mainland crew members on board, and they reported that they were carrying 32 containers ready to be delivered to Macau.
Initial inspections of suspicious places revealed that two containers of daily necessities and cosmetics were reported to contain incomplete information, and even the basic cargo types and weights were not declared.
Another reported container containing sneakers was not sealed to ensure safe and complete delivery to the consignee, an unusual method.
Coupled with the smell of another container reportedly containing tea leaves, officers had reason to believe that the container did not contain tea leaves, but spoiled meat.
Lui Shaohui, commander of the first special investigation team of the Organised Crime Investigation Bureau of the Customs, said that after inspecting the containers, he found that there were more than 20,000 bottles of red wine, more than 10,000 pieces of old electronic products, a batch of beauty needles and 4 tons of frozen meat in four containers.
Officers found not only smuggled red wine, but also more than 23 million yuan in cash in the containers that were reported to be carrying daily necessities and cosmetics.
When customs officers opened the cabinet for inspection, it was initially a batch of declared items, but when they found smuggled red wine in the middle, after removing all the items, there was a cardboard box with more than 23 million Hong Kong dollars in cash.
Another batch of smuggled beauty needles was clearly marked in the box to be refrigerated, but the smugglers put them in ordinary warehouses without refrigeration facilities, which may pose health risks when they enter the market.
In addition, smuggled frozen meat may go bad at high temperatures, posing a health crisis.
In this case, more than 45 million yuan of smuggled goods were seized, and two men, aged 45 and 76, who were suspected to be the shippers, were arrested. It is not ruled out that more people will be arrested.
