Customs busts Fanling illicit cigarette storage hub
HK01 · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago2 MIN
Summary
Hong Kong Customs said it dismantled a suspected illicit cigarette storage and distribution centre in Fanling on August 9 after intercepting a man carrying a carton on Luen Hing Street around noon. Officers later searched a nearby residential unit and seized a total of about 55,400 suspected illicit cigarettes, arresting a 70-year-old unemployed local man.
Key Points
- Customs officers were conducting an anti-illicit cigarette operation on Luen Hing Street in Fanling at about 12pm on August 9 when they spotted a suspicious local man moving a carton.
- About 5,400 suspected illicit cigarettes were found inside the carton, and the man was arrested at the scene immediately after the stop and search.
- Officers then escorted the suspect to a residential flat at the same location and found another roughly 50,000 suspected illicit cigarettes inside the unit.
- The total seizure came to about 55,400 sticks, with an estimated market value of about HK$250,000 and a duty potential of about HK$180,000
- Customs investigator Tai Man-san of the Revenue Crimes Investigation Bureau said the suspect allegedly used an ordinary home to disguise the stock and reduce detection risk
Why It Matters
Customs believes the operation disrupted a storage and distribution point supplying northern New Territories, which could help curb illicit cigarettes entering the local market. The case also underlines the legal risks of handling, possessing, selling or buying illicit cigarettes, offences that carry a maximum penalty of a HK$2 million fine and seven years' imprisonment