The Organised Crime Investigation Division, Intelligence Division and Port and Maritime Division of Hong Kong Customs carried out a joint anti-smuggling operation yesterday (5th) night, and detected a suspected smuggling case by cargo ship in the waters of Cheung Chau, and seized about 9 tons of high-priced food ingredients and live food Coral, this batch of ingredients has a wide variety and a market value of about 1.5 million yuan. The smuggling cargo ship is like a "mini super market". Three local men on board were arrested and detained.
Based on intelligence analysis and in-depth investigation, Customs suspects that some criminals are using cargo ships to carry out smuggling activities in the waters south of Hong Kong. Inspector Cai Xianming of the Ports and Waters Division, Sea Area Surprise and Strategic Planning Group, said that investigators first found a suspicious cargo ship sailing and detected it through radar. The monitoring system detects and uses speed, course and current as indicators to predict the possible escape route of the target cargo ship. After analyzing that the ship is traveling from the direction of the southern water boundary, it immediately dispatches two high-speed interceptor boats to intercept and investigate, using the speed Advantages, the detectives reached the target water area within 2 minutes, that is, 1 nautical mile away from the water boundary of Hong Kong, and found that the target cargo ship did not turn on the navigation lights at that time.
Inspector Conn of the First Group of Special Investigation of the Organised Crime Investigation Division continued to point out that after the cargo ship was stopped, the officers boarded the ship and seized a batch of ingredients that were not listed on the warehouse receipt. Fruits and vegetables, sea urchins, seafood sashimi, and live coral suspected to be under control weighed 9 tons in total, with a total market value of about 1.5 million yuan.
Kang also added that when the ingredients were seized, they were not stored at an appropriate temperature, and there were no refrigeration equipment, air-conditioning or related storage items on board.
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At the same time, three local men aged between 34 and 69 on board were also arrested. They were reported as the captain, the engine operator and the person in charge.
Customs said it will investigate the origin of the goods and whether the owner of the vessel is involved in the case, and it cannot rule out that more people will be arrested.
Customs said that the smuggling form in this case is different from the past. In the past, criminals usually transported the same type of goods in large batches at one time, and then transported them to the destination through transit stations or intermediate storage centers.
However, this time, each smuggled item has a wide variety and a small quantity. He even described that the criminals put the "mini-supermarket" on a cargo ship and directly deliver the goods to the recipients. He believes that the group plans to change the "ant moving house". The strategic shipment is related to a series of anti-sea smuggling enforcement actions by the Customs recently.
Inspector Kang En (left) of the Special Investigation Unit 1 of the Organised Crime Investigation Bureau and Cai Yinming (right), Inspector of the Marine Sudden and Strategic Planning Unit of the Port and Marine Division, briefed the media on the case.
(Photo by Lin Zhenhua)
Customs stressed that smuggling is a serious crime. According to the Import and Export Ordinance, anyone who imports or exports unmanifested goods can be fined up to $2 million and imprisoned for seven years upon conviction.
According to the "Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance", it is illegal for anyone to import, re-export or possess endangered species in accordance with the regulations.
Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of HK$10 million and imprisonment for 10 years.
Members of the public can report suspected smuggling activities to the Customs 24-hour hotline at 2545 6182 or through the dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).