****************************************************

Customs officers arrested nine suspected illegal immigrants aboard two Mainland vessels at Hong Kong waters yesterday (May 16).

At about 5:30 pm, a team of officers from the Customs Ship Search Division searched a Mainland cargo vessel off Junk Bay and arrested seven men, aged between 27 and 50, who failed to produce any valid identification documents.

In a separate case, another team of Customs officers from the Ship Search Division arrested two crew members on board a Mainland vessel off Yau Ma Tei at about 8:30 pm. The two mainlanders, aged 16 and 67, were reported to have carried no valid identification documents.

The cases had been handed over to the Immigration Department for follow-up enquiries, a spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department said.

"The Department had been stepping up actions to prevent Hong Kong from being used by alien smugglers as a stepping stone for transit to other countries.

"We have a sound mechanism for checking cargoes to prevent the smuggling of illicit cargoes, apart from adopting a "risk assessment" system in selecting for examination," he reiterated.

He also recalled that the Department had reached an agreement with container cargo traders to adopt a series of measures in preventing Hong Kong from being used as a base for alien smuggling following a joint meeting on January 11, this year.

The measures are as follows:

* Shipping companies to report use of "soft-top" and "refrigerator (set above 15 degrees Celsius) containers to the Customs for inspection prior to export;

* Shipping companies and container terminal operators to strengthen the security including the use of modern technology to prevent illegal migrants from boarding any vessels or hiding in the containers;

* Shipping companies and container terminal operators to report immediately any suspicious shipments to the relevant Government departments, and

* Shipping companies to follow agreed procedures to check new clients' business registration and relevant documents before accepting business.

End/Wednesday, May 17, 2000

NNNN