The Macau Customs Service said in a statement yesterday that it has arrested 14 people suspected of involvement in parallel trading from a shop in the northern district and confiscated goods worth 300,000 patacas on Monday.
According to the statement, customs officers who were monitoring the shop discovered that the parallel traders were being paid for smuggling the goods across the border. The statement said that the parallel traders used the “ants-moving-home” tactic, i.e. they picked up a small quantity of goods each time and smuggled them to Zhuhai via the Barrier Gate border checkpoint in order to evade the two cities’ customs checks.
The statement said that when the customs officers took action on Monday, they found a large number of goods in the shop, including cosmetics and baby products. The statement noted that the officers confiscated 4,600 items, estimating that they are worth 300,000 patacas.
The statement said that after investigating the case, there is strong evidence to prove that the shop hired workers illegally to export the goods to Zhuhai. The statement pointed out that the Customs Service arrested a shop manager, two shop staff and 11suspected parallel traders for breaching the External Trade Law. The statement underlined that the 14 suspects face a fine of up to 50,000 patacas each for violating the law.
The statement said that due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation in Guangdong province, the Macau Customs Service has been strengthening its novel coronavirus preventive measures, including clamping down on smugglers or parallel traders to prevent them from spreading the virus.
The Customs Service urged residents not to engage in contraband activities as it would increase the risk of spreading the virus. The statement said if they suspect anyone of carrying out illegal activities, residents can call 2896 5001 or email info@customs.gov.mo to report the case.
These two undated handout photos provided by the Macau Customs Service yesterday show the suspects being picked up by customs officers on Monday.
