Five suspects on the loose after police foil HK$1.4 million smuggling bid during typhoon warning

While most Hongkongers took shelter indoors as Tropical Storm Merbok raged, a group of smugglers braved the bad weather in a bid to smuggle electronic products into the mainland by sea on Monday night.

Their attempt was foiled by marine police, who confiscated more than HK$1.4 million worth of electronic products including smartphones and tablets, and impounded a car worth about HK$50,000 at the Sha Tau Kok pier. Five suspected smugglers managed to escape.

“We believe the gang took advantage of the typhoon warning to smuggle the goods because they thought no law enforcers were on patrol on both sides of the sea boundary during the No 8 typhoon signal,” a police source said.

http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-crime/article/2098099/five-suspects-loose-after-police-foil-hk14-million