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Hong Kong Customs achieves notable results in intercepting illicit cigarettes at source during first half of 2025 (with photo)
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     Hong Kong Customs has long been committed to promoting Customs co-operation in the Asia-Pacific (A/P) region to combat cross-boundary illicit cigarette activities at source. Fruitful results have been achieved, with various kinds of cross-boundary cigarette smuggling cases detected. During the first half of this year, Customs detected 84 large-scale illicit cigarette smuggling cases and seized about 278 million illicit cigarettes in total, with an estimated market value of about $1.25 billion and a duty potential of about $920 million.
      
     Following the Regional Conference on Combating Illicit Cigarettes cohosted with the Australian Border Force in November last year, Hong Kong Customs continues to actively strengthen regional co-operation in the A/P region, and adjusts its enforcement strategies in response to evolving smuggling trends to further step up enforcement actions to curb the inflow of illicit cigarettes at source.
      
     Early this year, Hong Kong Customs and the anti-smuggling departments of Mainland Customs mounted a joint radar surveillance operation targeting maritime cigarette smuggling syndicates, detecting four large-scale maritime illicit cigarette smuggling cases, seizing a total of about 49 million illicit cigarettes on four fishing vessels. 
      
     Between March and July this year, Hong Kong Customs and Singapore Customs mounted a joint operation codenamed "Cutflow" and detected multiple large-scale cigarette smuggling cases by sea, seizing a total of about 107 million illicit cigarettes in 33 sea-borne containers arriving in Hong Kong from Singapore.
      
     Customs also reinforced enforcement actions against air smuggling of illicit cigarettes. During the first half of this year, Customs mounted a special enforcement operation against illicit cigarette smuggling activities involving air passengers, and detected 44 related cases with 48 passengers arrested and a total of about 1.4 million illicit cigarettes seized. Moreover, Customs detected multiple smuggling cases of illicit cigarettes through air parcels and seized a total of about 13 million illicit cigarettes. Eleven controlled delivery operations were conducted, and seven persons were arrested.
      
     Customs will continue to maintain close liaison and strengthen intelligence exchanges with Mainland and other law enforcement agencies to vigorously combat cross-boundary illicit cigarette activities.
      
     Customs stresses that smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction. Moreover, under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.
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     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/Thursday, August 21, 2025
Issued at HKT 17:05
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Today's Press Releases  

Photo

Hong Kong Customs has long been committed to promoting Customs co-operation in the Asia-Pacific region to combat cross-boundary illicit cigarette activities at source. Fruitful results have been achieved, with various kinds of cross-boundary cigarette smuggling cases detected. During the first half of this year, Customs detected 84 large-scale illicit cigarette smuggling cases and seized about 278 million illicit cigarettes in total, with an estimated market value of about $1.25 billion and a duty potential of about $920 million. Photo shows some of the illicit cigarettes seized.