Customs officers of Revenue and General Investigation Bureau this afternoon (January 16) smashed a syndicate involved in smuggling, storage and distribution of illicit cigarettes.
During the operation, Customs officers seized from an illicit cigarette storage in North Point about 900,000 sticks of illicit cigarettes, worth about $1.3 million with duty potential of about $720,000.
Two men and a woman, aged between 37 and 61, were arrested. They included the syndicate mastermind.
The arrestees will be charged with "dealing with goods to which the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance was applied" under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance and will appear in Eastern Magistrates' Courts tomorrow (January 17).
At noon today, Customs officers spotted a suspicious man unloading from a van a batch of cartons, which were stained with mud and water marks.
The officers tailed the man to a domestic unit in Kam Ping Street. They seized from the unit and the van 900,000 sticks of illicit cigarettes.
Customs believed that the illicit cigarettes were smuggled into Hong Kong by sampans, and would be delivered by van for local sale.
In light of the greater demand for the upcoming Lunar New Year, the syndicate continued smuggling despite that it had already stockpiled illicit cigarettes in its storage centre.
Customs officers believed that the illicit cigarettes seized, in festive package, were for the Lunar New Year.
A spokesman for Customs and Excise stressed that the Department would continue to take stringent enforcement actions to crack down on illicit cigarette activities.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, the maximum penalty for dealing with dutiable goods is a fine of $1 million and two years' imprisonment.
Ends/Monday, January 16, 2006