Man convicted and jailed for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and obstructing Customs officers in exercise of power (with photos)
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Customs intercepted a 38-year-old man who was pulling a pallet of cargo with a pallet truck for inspection at the Chung Ying Street Checkpoint in Sha Tau Kok on May 12. During customs clearance, the man failed to obey the lawful order of the Customs officers, and a total of 280 200 sticks of duty-not-paid cigarettes were seized from 24 styrofoam boxes of the consignment. The man was thus arrested. The estimated market value of the batch of duty-not-paid cigarettes was about $1.4 million, and the duty potential was about $926,000.
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.
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/Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:50
Issued at HKT 17:50
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