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Hong Kong Customs mounted a two-week special operation to combat smuggling and distribution of illicit cigarettes.
In the operation, two cross-boundary vehicles for smuggling illicit cigarettes were seized and five storage points were smashed. About three million sticks of illicit cigarettes were seized in the operation. The total market value of the cigarettes was about $7.5 million with a duty potential of about $5.1 million.
The five illicit cigarette storage points were located in East Kowloon and four were mini-storage units rented by illicit cigarette distributors and one was a residential unit.
In the first 10 months this year, the Customs detected 22 significant smuggling cases with an average of over 1.6 million sticks of illicit cigarettes in each case. During the period, a total of about 36 million sticks of illicit cigarettes were seized, more than the total number of cases and seizure in 2012 (17 cases and 27 million sticks of illicit cigarettes respectively). In the same period, a total of 27 million sticks of illicit cigarettes for local market in town were seized by the Customs, a decrease of more than 10 per cent when compared with 31 million sticks of illicit cigarettes seized in the same period last year.
The operation showed the effectiveness of the Customs' enforcement strategy in combating smuggling of illicit cigarettes by tracking the source. The Customs will continue to spare no effort in undertaking stringent enforcement against illicit cigarettes activities on all fronts to protect Government revenue.
A Customs spokesperson said today (November 22) that under the Import and Export Ordinance, smuggling is a serious offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
Members of the public are urged to report suspected illicit cigarette activities by calling the Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182.
Ends/Friday, November 22, 2013
Issued at HKT 23:16
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