Customs seized $200 million of illicit cigarettes before the new year and arrested 50 people to prevent the group from transshipping them overseas to evade tax and earn the difference

The demand for illicit cigarettes increased sharply before the Lunar New Year, and the group tried to confuse them with ordinary goods. The Customs took all-round law enforcement actions in the past two weeks. A total of 49 cases of illicit cigarettes were detected in various districts in Hong Kong, and a total of about 71 million suspected illicit cigarettes were seized. The estimated market value is about 200 million yuan, and the taxable value is about 140 million yuan. In one case, about 69 million cigarettes were smuggled by sea, with an estimated market value of about 190 million yuan. It is believed that the group will transfer 30% of the illicit cigarettes to places with high tax rates overseas , such as Europe, America and Southeast Asian countries, in order to earn the price difference and evade taxation, the customs arrested 50 people in the operation, the youngest was only 16 years old.

Customs has detected a total of 49 cases of illicit cigarettes in various districts in Hong Kong, and seized a total of about 71 million suspected illicit cigarettes, with an estimated market value of about 200 million yuan and a taxable value of about 140 million yuan.

(Photo by Cai Zhengbang)

Lin Weijie, Senior Investigation Officer of the Customs Revenue Crime Investigation Division, explained the case. The Customs Revenue Crime Investigation Bureau raided a barge at the Yau Ma Tei public cargo unloading area last Wednesday (11th) morning, and seized about 69 million sticks of unpaid cigarettes in 7 containers on board. , the market value is about 190 million yuan, and the taxable value is about 130 million yuan. The 64-year-old person in charge of the barge involved in the case was arrested.

Customs officers also discovered that the illicit cigarettes had been repackaged long ago. The group used plastic bags with different colors and doll patterns to disguise the illicit cigarettes as ordinary goods to facilitate smuggling into the country. It is a different brand, with overseas texts and health warnings on the package. It is an uncommon illicit cigarette in Hong Kong. It is believed that after repackaging in Hong Kong, it is smuggled overseas by sea and air to places with high tax rates, earning price differences and evading taxation. The estimated case 30% of the illicit cigarettes will be shipped to Europe, America and Southeast Asian countries.

Lin Weijie pointed out that the customs seized 730 million unpaid cigarettes last year, with a market value of about 2.01 billion yuan and a taxable value of about 1.4 billion yuan, an increase of about 70% compared with the previous year, breaking the record for the number of illicit cigarettes in the past 21 years. At the same time, some overseas places have high inflation rates, including the price of cigarettes. Criminals stockpiled illegal cigarettes in advance to supply the local and overseas markets. In addition, the epidemic eased and the logistics industry began to return to normal. Citizens’ demand for illegal cigarettes increased significantly. .

Liang Junwen, acting commander of the Tax Investigation Team 2 of the Customs Revenue Crime Investigation Division, also pointed out that the Customs launched an anti-illicit cigarette operation code-named "Xunlei" from the 3rd of this month to the day before yesterday (17th), including illicit cigarette activities in public housing estates , In terms of storage and distribution, customs officers smashed three large illicit cigarette storage warehouses in Yuen Long, Tuen Mun, and Ping Che on the 4th and 12th of this month, seized two illicit cigarette distribution trucks, and seized about 2 million unfinished cigarettes Tax cigarettes, while arresting 2 people.

As for the retail level, customs officers detected 46 cases of buying and selling illicit cigarettes in Hong Kong, Kowloon and the New Territories, and arrested 41 men and 6 women, aged between 16 and 82.

Liang Junwen believes that the demand for illicit cigarettes will increase as the long holiday of the Lunar New Year approaches. Citizens will buy New Year's goods recently, so related items have become common.

In addition, illicit cigarette groups buy and sell illicit cigarettes from 6:00 am to 10:00 pm at the latest, and frequently change delivery locations, such as markets and estate parks, making it difficult for customs officers to enforce the law. Retail multi-pronged strategy.

Acting Commander Liang Junwen (left) of the Tax Investigation Team 2 of the Customs Revenue Crime Investigation Division and Lin Weijie (right), the Senior Investigation Director of the Tax Crime Investigation Division, explained the case.

(Photo by Cai Zhengbang)

Liang Junwen reiterated that smuggling is a serious crime. According to the "Import and Export Ordinance", anyone who imports or exports unmanifested goods, once convicted, can be fined 2 million yuan and imprisoned for 7 years. It is also illegal to buy and sell illicit cigarettes. According to According to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone who handles, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes is guilty of an offense. Upon conviction, the maximum penalty is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for 2 years. Members of the public can call the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 , or report suspected illicit cigarette activities through the dedicated crime reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).