One incoming male passenger and one incoming female passenger were each sentenced to six months' imprisonment by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (March 13) for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes and failing to declare them to Customs officers, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
      
     Customs officers intercepted a 24-year-old male passenger and a 34-year-old female passenger at Hong Kong International Airport on November 19, 2025. A total of about 82 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes with a total estimated market value of about $372,000 and a duty potential of about $273,000 in total, were seized from their personal baggage. They were subsequently arrested.
      
     Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentences have imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflect the seriousness of the offences.
      
     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 $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/Friday, March 13, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:40

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