Man convicted and jailed for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and making use of altered structure of vehicle for purpose of smuggling articles (with photos)

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     A 32-year-old man was convicted at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on August 6 for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and making use of an altered structure of a vehicle for the purpose of smuggling articles, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO). He was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for each of the charges that will run concurrently.

     Through risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Hong Kong Customs intercepted an inbound private car, declared to be empty, at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Port on June 12, 2024. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized a total of 30 800 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes from the doors, console box, the rear and a compartment installed underneath the vehicle. The male driver was subsequently arrested and the private car was also seized. The estimated market value of the cigarettes seized in the case was about $180,000 and the duty potential was about $100,000.

     Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.

     Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, tobacco products are dutiable goods to which the DCO applies. Any person who imports, deals with, possesses, sells or buys illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

     Moreover, smuggling is a serious offence. Under the IEO, any person found guilty of making use of the altered structure of a vehicle for the purpose of smuggling articles is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.

     Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action.

     Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).

Ends/Friday, August 8, 2025
Issued at HKT 15:06

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A 32-year-old man was convicted at the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts on August 6 for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and making use of an altered structure of a vehicle for the purpose of smuggling articles, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and the Import and Export Ordinance. He was sentenced to four months' imprisonment for each of the charges that will run concurrently. Photo shows the duty-not-paid cigarettes involved in the case.