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LCQ12:Combating smuggling activities
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    Following is a written reply by the Secretary for Security, Mr Ambrose S K Lee, to a question by the Hon Lau Kong-wah on combating smuggling activities in the Legislative Council today (January 23):

Question:

     On combating the smuggling of goods into and out of Hong Kong by law-breakers, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a) the respective types and values of goods, seized by the authorities over the past two years, which were being smuggled into and out of Hong Kong via sea, land and air;

(b) the types of goods the smuggling of which is increasingly serious and the channels more and more commonly used for smuggling by law-breakers, as revealed from the figures above; and whether the authorities have looked into the relevant causes; and

(c) the new smuggling methods employed by law-breakers as detected by the authorities in recent years, and whether it has assessed if the employment of such smuggling methods has made it more difficult to combat such smuggling activities?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) In 2006 and 2007, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) detected 499 and 611 smuggling cases respectively.  The total seizure values were $309 million and $518 million respectively.  The types and values of the major seizures are set out at the Annex.

(b) In the past two years, smuggling activities detected by C&ED were mainly carried out between Hong Kong and the Mainland by sea and by land.  The major items smuggled from Hong Kong to the Mainland included computers, computer accessories, optical discs, electronic products, electrical appliances and foodstuff (e.g. high-price Chinese medicine and dried seafood, etc.).  The major items smuggled from the Mainland to Hong Kong included cigarettes, foodstuff (e.g. freshwater fish, meat and poultry, etc.) and counterfeit goods (e.g. electronic products, clothing and footwear, leather goods, etc.).  As a result of the rapid economic growth in the Mainland, there is an increasing demand for high-value and high-technology products from Mainland residents.  In recent years, there has been an upward trend of law-breakers smuggling high-value goods to the Mainland by sea and by land.

(c) C&ED and other law enforcement agencies are committed to combating smuggling activities.  In order to evade enforcement actions, smugglers frequently change their smuggling practises.  For example, they frequently change the locations and time for loading and unloading as well as the methods of concealing smuggled goods.  In response to the constantly changing smuggling practises, C&ED will continue to step up their intelligence gathering efforts, enhance liaison and cooperation with relevant departments as well as law enforcement agencies outside Hong Kong, and adopt flexible anti-smuggling tactics and operations in order to bring smugglers to justice.

Ends/Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Issued at HKT 14:01

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