Surge in Customs cases: Illicit cigarette smuggling takes center stage

The Customs and Excise Department handled over 31,200 cases last year (2024), with a staggering 68 percent related to illicit cigarettes. 

The department logged about 21,000 tobacco smuggling cases, marking an 80 percent increase from 2023, and seized around 640 million illicit cigarettes.

Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat said that this increase is significant, as customs intercepted nearly double the number of cases linked to visitors bringing in excessive quantities of duty-free cigarettes. 

Chan attributed this trend to the rise in tobacco taxes, saying, “Undeniably, such an increase has provided an incentive for incoming travelers to take a risk by carrying excessive amounts of tax-free tobacco products.”

Customs also discovered 1,363 drug-related cases last year, consistent with the previous year, seizing about 6.3 tons of drugs.

Among these cases, 19 involved “space oil,” which contains etomidate. Chan identified India as the major source of space oil and etomidate raw materials, arriving in Hong Kong in shipments weighing over 10 kilograms. 

Smaller quantities of space oil were mainly found with incoming or outgoing passengers, particularly those carrying e-cigarettes.

On another front, reports concerning fitness services showed around 3,000 cases in 2024, a remarkable 14-fold increase from 2023. 

The department attributed this surge to the closure of the local gym chain Physical, with investigations still ongoing.

(Jamie Liu)