Hong Kong customs officers have confiscated chook’s nests value HK$9.5 million (US$1.2 million) hidden in a truck certain for mainland China, the biggest seizure of its type when it comes to worth at a land management level in twenty years.
Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung of the customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau on Thursday mentioned the cargo, found on the Man Kam To management level the day earlier than, was supposed to fulfill the demand on the mainland within the run-up to Lunar New Year.
This was the second main seizure of the product at a land border checkpoint in two weeks, he added. Bird’s nest is extensively thought to be a delicacy in Chinese delicacies.
On December 20, 150kg (331lbs) of chook’s nest was discovered amongst HK$7.8 million value of contraband merchandise hid beneath the aisle of a cross-border vacationer bus on the Shenzhen Bay management level. Its driver was arrested.
In the latest case, customs officers on the Man Kam To management level intercepted the Shenzhen-bound truck for inspection on Wednesday afternoon. The truck was declared to be carrying no cargo.
During an inspection, officers discovered a number of stacks of plastic baskets within the automobile’s cargo compartment, the superintendent mentioned.
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“At the bottom of one plastic basket, a layer of plastic boxes containing bird’s nests was found with another basket placed on top to cover them,” Lau mentioned. “Among 113 plastic baskets, customs officers uncovered 272 boxes carrying 234kg of the contraband items.”
He mentioned the estimated HK$9.5 million value of smuggled chook’s nests was the most important seizure when it comes to worth at a land management level since data started in 2002.
The earlier report was in 2018 when officers seized greater than HK$8 million value of chook’s nests.
Lau mentioned the products seized on Wednesday had been topic to mainland tariffs of about 38 per cent, including that “smugglers could have evaded HK$3.6 million in taxes if the goods were successfully smuggled across the border”.
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Officers arrested the 65-year-old driver on suspicion of exporting unmanifested cargo, an offence punishable by as much as seven years in jail and a HK$2 million high-quality.
The suspect had been launched on bail pending additional investigation.
On Wednesday final week, customs officers seized HK$6 million value of high-value merchandise resembling fish maws and shark fins, in a transport container earlier than it was loaded onto a Vietnam-bound ship. A supply accustomed to the case mentioned the contraband items could be smuggled into the mainland after reaching Vietnam.
Lau mentioned the latest case confirmed smugglers deployed completely different modes of transport and concealment strategies to ship contraband merchandise throughout the border.
He mentioned customs officers would proceed to change intelligence with mainland and abroad regulation enforcement businesses to fight cross-border smuggling actions.
