Hong Kong Customs seized about 1.86 million suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of HK$8.3 million and a duty value of HK$6.1 million at a private housing estate in Tsing Yi on Wednesday, arresting a 28-year-old local man.
Customs officers were conducting anti-smuggling patrols around 1pm when they spotted the man loading large nylon bags into a private car at a carpark. A search uncovered a large quantity of suspected illicit cigarettes.
Officers later raided a 600-square-foot residential unit in the same estate, believed to have been used as a storage and distribution centre. The seized cigarettes were pre-packaged for distribution across Hong Kong.
Customs said the operation had successfully dismantled a supply centre serving various districts. The investigation is ongoing and further arrests are not ruled out.
