A man was sentenced to 18 months' imprisonment by the West Kowloon Magistrates' Courts today (February 12) for dealing with duty-not-paid cigarettes, in contravention of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
During an anti-illicit cigarette operation conducted on Kwai Hei Street in Kwai Chung on October 8, 2024, Customs officers intercepted a lorry and seized about 1.27 million illicit cigarettes in the lorry, with an estimated market value of about $5.7 million and a duty potential of about $4.2 million, and arrested a 31-year-old male lorry driver who was moving the illicit cigarettes.
Customs welcomes the sentences. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of the offences.
Customs reminds members of the public that under the DCO, 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).
