Fifty-two people have been arrested for buying illicit cigarettes in a five-day anti-illicit cigarette operation that started on Monday (March 15).
While rounding off the Hong Kong-wide operation codenamed "Cougar", the Deputy Head of the Customs Revenue and General Investigation Bureau, Mr David Fong Tai-wai, said that buyers of illicit cigarettes, just as sellers, were liable to prosecution.
Mr Fong said Customs aimed to remove the lifeblood of the illicit transactions of duty-not-paid cigarettes by swooping on illicit cigarette black spots and arresting people who bought illicit cigarettes.
"Customs officers will continue to take rigorous enforcement action against illicit cigarette activities at different levels, including retailing, distribution and storage," he said.
During the five-day operation, the officers cracked 74 cases in connection with illicit cigarettes. They also neutralised an illicit cigarette storage centre in Tsuen Wan.
Overall, the officers arrested 104 people and seized 330,000 sticks of illicit cigarettes. The total value of the seizure amounted to $500,000 and the duty potential was about $270,000.
Of those arrested, 46 men and six women aged 19 to 76 were buyers, while 13 men and 39 women aged 19 to 65 were sellers.
Mr Fong warned that under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, any person dealing with, selling or buying illicit cigarettes was liable to prosecution. The maximum penalty for the offence is a fine of $1 million and two years' imprisonment.
Mr Fong appealed to members of the public to call the Customs 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 to report suspected illicit cigarette activities.
In 2003, Customs officers arrested 124 buyers and 2,486 sellers in 4,393 street-level illicit cigarette cases.
Ends/Friday, March 19, 2004