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Hong Kong Customs mounted an anti-smuggling operation in Deep Bay Road, Lau Fau Shan last Friday (January 11), and smashed a sea-smuggling case. In the operation, 1,075 sets of tablet computers and three wooden vessels with a total value of about $4.2 million were seized.
At about 11pm last Friday, while conducting an anti-smuggling operation, Customs officers of the Special Task Force and the Marine Enforcement Group found several men loading some carton boxes from seashore near the mangrove in Deep Bay Road, Lau Fau Shan onto a motorised sampan and a wooden vessel. Officers took immediate enforcement action. The suspects immediately jumped onboard the motorised sampan and fled the scene.
The officers seized a carton of goods on the seashore. Customs divers were also deployed to conduct in-depth search in the mangrove. Another 51 cartons of goods in three wooden vessels were found hidden inside the mangrove. As a result, a total of 1,075 sets of tablet computers and the three wooden vessels were seized. No arrests were made. The investigation is continuing.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of attempting to export unmanifested cargoes is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.
The Customs will take stringent enforcement to combat smuggling activities. Members of the public are urged to report any suspected smuggling activities to the Customs through Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.
Ends/Sunday, January 13, 2013
Issued at HKT 20:07
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