A recent anti-smuggling operation in Hong Kong’s Lantau Island seized more than 200 bottles of French wine worth around HK$20,000 or over US$2,500 each.
According to SCMP, the Hong Kong Customs got a hold of around HK$10 million worth of goods, including the French wines, 580 Cuban cigars, and an HK$8 million bird’s nest, all bound to Shenzhen.
Based on initial investigations, the haul included three different brands of red wine believed to cost around HK$7,000 each.
Senior Superintendent Mark Woo Wai-kwa, a customs official, was quoted as saying that the smuggling attempt was made to avoid tight import restrictions and high tariffs in mainland China.
Hong Kong saw the value of contraband goods seized in seaborne smuggling cases went up to HK$290 million (around US$37.4 million) from January to May, almost double the value seized in the same period last year.
In the region, a maximum penalty of seven years of imprisonment and HK$2 million fine (almost US$258,000) is imposed on those who are found trading unmanifested goods.
