Government Announcement News
- HK, mainland jointly smash cross-boundary smuggling syndicate
Date: 9-May-2007 Sources: (Xinhua Online)
Hong Kong and Chinese Mainland customs announced Tuesday they have shut down a cross-boundary smuggling syndicate in a joint operation, arresting four men and three women.
Hong Kong Customs seized more than 33 million HK dollars (4.23 million U.S. dollars) worth of goods, including 9,300 mobile phones, 5,700 kg of American ginseng, 15,730 micro LCDs, two international mobile equipment identity-decoding machines, a light goods vehicle and several computers from the syndicate's storage center in Fanling on May 6.
Three men and three women aged 36 to 58 were arrested, including a 58-year-old woman suspected to be the syndicate's core member. They have been released on bail.
Mainland Customs officers arrested a 37-year-old man, suspected to be the syndicate's mastermind in Shenzhen, and seized 1,471 mobile phones and a batch of equipment used for smuggling.
Investigations showed the syndicate tried to cheat on export-tax refunds by exporting mobile phones out of the Mainland and smuggling them back through the frontier closed area on the Hong Kong side.
Hong Kong Customs & Excise Commissioner Timothy Tong said the operation, conducted with the General Administration of Customs' and Shenzhen Customs' anti-smuggling bureau, marked the success of the crackdown on syndicated cross-boundary smuggling activities through intelligence exchange and co-operation.
A Pan-Pearl River Delta Customs trade-facilitation forum and regional Customs Commissioners joint conference will be held in Hong Kong on Thursday and Friday. It will strengthen the mode of cross-regional, multi-dimensional law enforcement and the customs clearance network in the region.
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