Gongbei Customs said in a statement yesterday that it recently busted parallel traders who used “family-style” smuggling tactics to take goods illegally worth 22 million yuan (28 million patacas) from Macau to the mainland.
According to the statement, the mastermind of the parallel traders, a male surnamed Liu, operates an online shop that accepts mainland orders and then places the orders on international platforms. The statement pointed out that Liu either lied on the customs declaration form when receiving the order from overseas, or first arranged for the order to be delivered to Macau and have parallel traders take them to the mainland.
The statement said that the main members of the case are Liu, his wife, and his sister-in-law. The statement underlined that the shop’s storage area was located in a residential building in Zhuhai, which is relatively hidden and as the members are close-knit, the customs had a hard time locating the parallel traders.
The statement noted that on March 15, Gongbei Customs busted the family’s two storage areas, which contained smuggled luxury handbags, clothes, and other items, 3,000 in total. The statement underlined that the case is still under investigation.
Gongbei Customs warned that any form of smuggling is considered illegal, urging the public to strictly abide by the law.
This undated handout photo provided by Gongbei Customs yesterday shows one of the storage areas in Zhuhai replete with smuggled goods.
