Three incoming passengers were sentenced to between three and six months imprisonment and fined HK$1,000 each for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and alternative smoking products, Customs said.
On May 1, Customs officers at Hong Kong International Airport intercepted two male passengers, aged 34 and 38, seizing about 37,000 duty-not-paid cigarettes with a market value of about HK$188,000 and duty potential of about HK$124,000, along with about 85,000 alternative smoking products valued at about HK$229,000. Both were each sentenced to six months imprisonment and fined HK$1,000 on May 4.
On May 4, officers intercepted a 24-year-old male passenger, seizing about 30,000 duty-not-paid cigarettes valued at about HK$121,000 with a duty potential of about HK$98,000. He was sentenced to three months imprisonment and fined HK$1,000 on May 5.
Customs welcomed the sentences, stating they serve as a considerable deterrent.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, importing, dealing in, possessing, selling or buying illicit cigarettes carries a maximum penalty of a HK$2 million fine and seven years imprisonment. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, importing alternative smoking products carries the same maximum penalty.
