Traveler gets seven months after twice caught smuggling cigarettes

A 38-year-old traveler has been sentenced to seven months and five days imprisonment for smuggling illegal cigarettes and alternative smoking products with a market value of HK$239,000.

The male traveler was arrested after officers seized 34,000 undeclared cigarettes and 12,000 alternative smoking products in his luggage at the Hong Kong International Airport. 

Further investigation revealed that he had also failed to declare personal luggage containing an additional 14,000 duty-not-paid cigarettes when arriving in Hong Kong on July 10 last year.

The traveler was charged with two offenses including importing duty-unpaid cigarettes without declaring them to customs officers and importing alternative smoking products. 

He was sentenced at West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts last Thursday (April 3).

Customs welcomed the sentence and stated that the prison term serves as a considerable deterrent and reflects the seriousness of the offenses.

Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, 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.

Meanwhile, the maximum penalty upon conviction for importing an alternative smoking product into Hong Kong is a fine of HK$2 million and imprisonment for seven years under the Import and Export Ordinance.