Customs Seize Smuggled Goods Worth HK$300m

Customs officers on Monday said they recently made their biggest sea smuggling bust this year, seizing goods worth about HK$300 million and arresting two people from a logistics company.

Products including dried seafood, wine and endangered species were found in 10 cargo containers at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals in late October.

Rita Li from the department's syndicate crimes investigation bureau said the goods had been destined to be smuggled to Tianjin by boat.

"This is the first case involving such a large number of smuggled goods since the pandemic. We uncovered several smuggling cases using river boats in the past... therefore, syndicates changed their smuggling methods and used ocean-going vessels instead, aiming to increase the difficulty of our law enforcement," Li said.

Officers said some of the goods were exported to Hong Kong from the mainland as China adopts a zero tax rate on exports, and it's thought they were to be smuggled back to avoid tax.