Twenty-one mainlanders nabbed for illicit cigarette smuggling, five jailed

Hong Kong Customs nabbed 21 mainlanders after intercepting 20 illicit cigarette smuggling cases at the Hong Kong International Airport, with five of them jailed for up to 6 months.

The news came as the department intensified enforcement at the international airport after noticing an increase in illicit cigarette smuggling involving air passengers.

Over the past two weeks, Customs intercepted 20 illicit cigarette smuggling cases at the airport, arresting 21 inbound mainland passengers for carrying duty-not-paid cigarettes from Japan into the city.

They were arrested for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare to Customs Officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance.

Among the arrestees, five of them have been sentenced to between three to six months in jail.

Customs welcomes the sentence and reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies.

“Any person who deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offense. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of HK$1 million and imprisonment for two years,” it said.