Customs seizes speedboat smuggling 5 million illicit cigarettes
HK01 · 3 SOURCESabout 2 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong Customs, working with Guangdong provincial public security and mainland anti-smuggling customs authorities, mounted a joint maritime anti-smuggling operation on 8 September and intercepted a suspected smuggling speedboat in waters northwest of Chek Lap Kok. Officers said the vessel tried to escape at high speed without navigation lights before they boarded it and found about 5 million suspected duty-unpaid cigarettes with an estimated market value of HK$22 million and a duty potential of about HK$16.5 million.
Key Points
- Customs spotted the unlit speedboat heading toward Sha Chau off the northwestern waters of Chek Lap Kok on 8 September and dispatched two high-speed interceptor craft.
- Officers said the boat ignored repeated orders to stop, changed course, accelerated toward Hong Kong’s northwestern boundary waters, and endangered marine navigation safety during the chase.
- After about 10 minutes of pursuit, officers boarded the roughly 16-metre vessel, which sources said could travel at 40 to 50 knots and carried six high-powered outboard engines.
- Customs arrested two mainland men on board for suspected breaches of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance after they failed to produce a cargo manifest or documents for the goods.
- The seizure involved about 5 million suspected illicit cigarettes, mainly of one brand, with Customs saying it will trace the source and destination and does not rule out further arrests.
Why It Matters
Customs described the vessel as the fastest smuggling speedboat it has successfully intercepted in the past two years, underlining the risks posed by increasingly powerful boats operating at night without lights. The department said it will keep adjusting enforcement strategy and continue joint action with mainland and other law-enforcement agencies as it tracks the source and destination of the cigarettes