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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 Wong Ting-kwong in the Legislative Council today (December 16):
Question:
Regarding the work in combating smuggling activities, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective quantities, types and values of goods smuggled into and out of Hong Kong by sea, on land and by air which were seized by the authorities in the past three years, as well as the number of persons arrested in connection with such cases;
(b) of the recent situation of illegal smuggling activities using prestigious sedans and luxurious seven-seater vehicles; if the situation has become serious, of the details and reasons for that;
(c) given the increasingly busy economic activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the number of vehicles travelling across the two places is increasing, whether the authorities had adopted specific measures in the past three years to focus on combating illegal smuggling activities on land; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(d) whether the authorities have recently uncovered new ways of smuggling being used by law-breakers; if they have, of the details, and what combating actions the authorities have taken in this respect?
Reply:
President,
(a) The major types and values of goods smuggled by sea, land and air in the past three years and seized by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) are set out at Annex I with the number of arrested persons involved in smuggling activities set out at Annex II. As for the quantity of each type of smuggled goods seized, we are not able to provide an overall quantity for each major type of smuggled goods, since each type encompasses a wide range of different articles with a multitude of categories, and the computing methods and units for different categories vary.
(b) From January to November 2009, C&ED detected a total of 12 smuggling cases involving the use of private cars, representing a decrease of 54% compared with that of the same period in 2008 (26 cases). Among them the more common smuggled items were cigarettes and computer products. C&ED will closely monitor the trend of using private cars for smuggling and step up inspection as and when necessary.
(c) C&ED adopts the following strategies to combat smuggling activities involving the use of vehicles:
(i) stepping up inspection of cross-boundary vehicles;
(ii) strengthening co-operation with local and Mainland law enforcement agencies, such as conducting joint operations and enhancing intelligence exchange;
(iii) using advanced equipment (e.g. X-ray vehicle scanning systems and contraband detectors) to enhance the effectiveness of inspection; and
(iv) establishing partnership with the relevant industries and encouraging them to provide information and intelligence so as to assist C&ED's law enforcement work.
(d) Smugglers frequently change their smuggling practices to evade enforcement actions. For example, they often switch the methods for concealing smuggled goods, as well as the locations and time for loading and unloading. In response to the constantly changing smuggling practices, C&ED will continue to step up their intelligence gathering efforts, enhance liaison and co-operation with relevant law enforcement agencies, and adopt flexible anti-smuggling tactics and operations in order to bring smugglers to justice.
Ends/Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Issued at HKT 15:04
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