Hong Kong Customs officers seized US$21 million of undeclared electronic goods in three containers on ships bound for Singapore and Taiwan.
Through intelligence analysis and risk assessment, two Singapore-bound containers, and one Taiwan-bound container were singled out as suspicious, and customs officers inspected the ships on 9 September and 19 September.
The three containers were declared as carrying “household electric items” and “screens, wafer of integrated circuits, backlights, computer, game console base, cosmetics and DVD player”.
The inspections uncovered high-value electronic items, such as mobile phones and tablet computers, hidden in the containers. An investigation is still ongoing and no one has been arrested yet.
The smuggling attempt took place a week after Hong Kong Customs netted its largest booty of contraband electronic products in 2024, with US$51.3 million of computers seized from a container declared as carrying citric acid. In the attempt, the computers were concealed in more than 2,000 cardboard boxes that were placed in a container meant for a ship heading for Tianjin, China. Customs personnel inspected the box at Kwai Chung Container Terminal before it was loaded onto the vessel.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of HK$2 million (US$260,000) and imprisonment for seven years upon conviction.
Martina Li
Asia Correspondent
