Hong Kong Customs detected a case of suspected illicit cigarette distribution by telephone ordering yesterday (December 3) and seized about 19 000 suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $90,000 and a duty potential of about $60,000. One local man was arrested.

     Targeting the sale of illicit cigarettes by telephone orders, Customs officers took enforcement actions and posed as buyers to make orders of illicit cigarettes by calling the telephone numbers printed on suspected illicit cigarette leaflets. A man suspected of distributing illicit cigarettes was arrested at Cheung Wang Estate yesterday afternoon, and the batch of suspected illicit cigarettes was seized from the plastic bags carried by him and his private vehicle. The vehicle was also detained.

     The arrestee, aged 39, who claimed to be a renovation worker, was charged with "dealing with goods to which the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance applies" and will appear at the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts on December 17.

     Customs will continue to trace the source of the illicit cigarettes. The likelihood of further arrests is not ruled out.

     Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis for interception at source as well as through its multipronged enforcement strategy targeting storage, distribution and peddling to spare no effort in taking enforcement actions against illicit cigarette leaflets and combating illicit cigarette activities.

     Customs stresses that it is an offence to buy or sell illicit cigarettes. 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 $2 million and imprisonment for seven 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/Thursday, December 4, 2025
Issued at HKT 12:35

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