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Hong Kong Customs seized HK$87.5 million worth of suspected contraband, including regulated sea cucumbers, pharmaceutical products and tobacco, from five river trade vessels bound for Macau between late June and mid-July.
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The Customs and Excise Department said on Wednesday that the vessels were carrying large quantities of bulk cargo and shipping containers.
Their cargo manifests declared low-value goods, including daily necessities, health supplements, clothing and electronic products, but officers found that the descriptions were vague and did not accurately reflect the contents of the shipments.
Detailed inspections uncovered unmanifested goods including about 723 kilograms of suspected regulated sea cucumbers, 1.33 million pharmaceutical products, 3,900 weight-loss injections, 8,880 cosmetic injections, 59 kilograms of tobacco products, 9,700 cigarettes and 1,500 items of fishing gear.
Customs said the smuggling operation was believed to be aimed mainly at evading export controls on pharmaceutical products and avoiding Macau’s import duties on tobacco.
The department is tracing the origins of the goods, the identities of the consignors and their intended destinations. Further arrests have not been ruled out.
