Customs seized 100 kilograms of methamphetamine with a market value of 57 million yuan in a heavy-duty machine milling machine that arrived in Hong Kong by air from Canada. A 34-year-old man was arrested.
5 suspicious points lead to customs search
Liu Xiyao, Acting Senior Inspector of the Air Cargo Section 3 of the Customs Airport Division, explained that there were 5 major doubts about the cargo, which led to further searches by the Customs.
The air cargo was declared to be a 1.7-ton milling machine, because milling machines imported from Canada are rare; after checking the information, both the exporter and the local importer of this cargo were imported and exported from Canada for the first time; the customs officer checked the customs clearance documents, Including the bill of lading and the invoice, the content and format of the invoice are quite rough, and the basic product model and specification are not mentioned, which is different from the general commercial invoice; while the milling machine is reported to be worth 1,800 Canadian dollars (about 100,000 Hong Kong dollars), but it is There are no other protective materials, only wrapped in ordinary adhesive tape. The customs officer opened it and found that it is not a brand new machine, and it has a strong smell of paint. Important components were removed and could not function normally, but they were still shipped to Hong Kong at such a high freight rate, so they decided to detain them for in-depth investigation. As a result, under the scan of the X-ray machine, it was found that there were no normal parts inside, such as Important parts such as coils or motors, on the contrary, placed some items of different shapes and densities, suspected to be hollowed out for illegal purposes.
Firefighters spent 1 hour disassembling parts with tools
Liu Xiyao continued that the structure of the milling machine is quite complicated, and it is locked with special screws in all directions. The customs then called in firefighters to assist them. They used heavy tools to remove the metal cover on the top of the milling machine and found that the opening of the pillar was sealed by a metal plate. It was smashed with tools, and it was found that the interior was injected with asphalt to make the inspection more difficult. After removing all obstacles, 100 kilograms of methamphetamine were finally found, with a market value of about 57 million Hong Kong dollars. The case was immediately handed over to the Customs Narcotics Investigation Division for follow-up.
Customs arrests a logistics employee involved in the case
Zou Yongchang, senior investigation director of the Airport Investigation Division of the Customs Narcotics Investigation Division, explained the situation of the case. Storing in a warehouse; he is currently released on bail pending further enquiries.
Customs investigated all the documents and information again and found that the parts arrived in Hong Kong on the 21st of last month and were stored at the freight station. Later, a mainland logistics company entrusted a Hong Kong logistics company to pick up the goods through the communication software of the social platform, and then sent them to Maanshan leased container.
However, the investigation found that the container is a container for storing second-hand books, not the real delivery address, and the company shown on the invoice and the address of the invoice company belong to two companies with legitimate business, and there is no relationship between the two. I believe The relevant information was stolen. It is suspected that the criminals used the information of legitimate companies to confuse the customs and evade customs selection and inspection.
Zou Yongchang pointed out that from the arrival of the goods in Hong Kong to the contact with the mainland logistics and local logistics for corresponding cooperation, the drug trafficking group behind it has never shown up, and it is like an invisible man who remotely controls the logistics and transportation chains in the mainland and Hong Kong for drug trafficking activities.
Customs has contacted Mainland law enforcement agencies for intelligence exchange and will continue to track down local drug trafficking syndicates. Further arrests cannot be ruled out.
In addition, the arrival of drugs from a relatively low-risk country this time proves that Customs has achieved remarkable results in combating cross-border criminal activities at the source, so that criminal groups spared no effort to smuggle drugs in a roundabout way.
He appealed to practitioners in the logistics industry to contact the Customs if they found that customers of unknown origin picked up the goods within a short period of time and failed to provide sufficient information, or frequently changed the delivery instructions.
Customs seized 10 kilograms of methamphetamine with a market value of about 17 million yuan.
(Photo by Weng Yuhui)
Customs appeals to members of the public to be more vigilant, not to engage in drug trafficking activities for financial gain, not to be hired or entrusted by anyone to transport controlled items into and out of Hong Kong, and not to assist others in transporting the items without confirming the nature of the items.
In addition, members of the public should avoid handing over personal information or addresses to others for the purpose of receiving postal parcels or goods.
According to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, trafficking in a dangerous drug is a serious offense and the maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and life imprisonment.
Members of the public can report suspected drug trafficking activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182, or through the dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).
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