Two suspected parallel trading gang members and seven mainland suspects involved in parallel trading were arrested earlier this month by the Gongbei Customs Service for smuggling more than 2,000 luxury items worth about 190 million yuan (232 million patacas) from Macau into the mainland using single-licence vehicles via Hengqin checkpoint, the Gongbei Customs Service said in a statement.
According to the statement, Gongbei Customs Service officers took action after receiving intelligence about a smuggling gang which used single-licence vehicles to smuggle goods from Macau to Zhuhai via the Hengqin checkpoint.
On December 7, a joint operation by the mainland’s General Administration of Customs in various locations such as Shanghai, Chengdu and Jiangmen, in conjunction with the Gongbei Customs Service and Public Security Bureau in Zhuhai, arrested two suspected key members of the gang from Macau and seven mainlanders suspected of involvement in the gang’s parallel trading.
Officers seized more than 2,000 luxury products such as Patek Philippe watches and Hermès handbags in three warehouses. Four single-licence vehicles have also been seized for investigation, the statement said.
According to the statement, Gongbei Customs officers confirmed that the two key members from Macau surnamed Cheoc and Leong made use of the single-licence vehicles to enter and exit the Hengqin checkpoint to deliver designer watches, jewellery, clothes and other goods purchased abroad. Small quantities were delivered each time to the mainland, and the goods were always declared as “for personal use “. Afterwards, the gang sent the goods to Shanghai, Chengdu and other cities in the mainland through express delivery companies.
The statement warned the public that parallel trading involving goods worth more than 100,000 yuan is regarded as smuggling which is a crime.
The undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs Service shows customs officers checking parallel trading goods seized from the gang.
The undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs Service shows customs officers searching a suspect and a vehicle.
