​In view of the recent increasing demand for injections and medicines from society, Hong Kong Customs has strengthened enforcement against the smuggling of controlled medicines and detected an illegal storage warehouse for smuggled controlled pharmaceutical products with seizures worth over $11 million. Two persons were arrested.

     Customs officers yesterday (August 25) identified a warehouse in Sheung Shui which was suspected of involvement in the smuggling and possession of controlled pharmaceutical products. A 56-year-old Mainland woman and a 51-year-old Mainland man were arrested. Customs seized a total of around 400 000 pieces of suspected pharmaceutical products with an estimated market value of over $11 million.

     An investigation is ongoing. The two arrested persons will be holding charged with one count of importing prohibited articles not under and in accordance with an import licence, and one count of possession of Part 1 poisons. In addition, the 51-year-old arrested Mainland man will be holding charged with one additional count of breach of condition of stay. The case will be brought up at the Fanling Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (August 27).

     Customs will continue to combat cross-boundary smuggling activities with firm enforcement action based on risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     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. Any person who imports pharmaceutical products and medicines without a valid import licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for two years.

     Under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling 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/Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Issued at HKT 19:27

NNNN