Hong Kong seizes record $154 mn in luxury goods headed to China
Hong Kong customs announced a record seizure on Friday of luxury goods that were headed to mainland China on a river barge in the latest operation to target an explosion of cross-border smuggling.
The haul included an array of highly sought-after items such as luxury watches, handbags, cosmetics and fins from endangered marine species.
Officials said the goods were worth about HK$1.2 billion ($154 million), by far the largest seizure made by the city’s customs agents.
The operation took place on October 14 when customs discovered what they said was a suspicious vessel that claimed to be transporting plastic pellets.
Instead officers discovered a veritable department store of luxury items.
“The Chinese New Year is only around three months from now… so the mainland has a larger demand for these expensive foods like fish maw and sea cucumber than in normal days,” customs investigator Cheng Tai-hei told reporters.
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