Gongbei Customs announced yesterday in a statement that it has cracked a series of cases involving smuggled alcoholic beverages in the mainland’s Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZs)*, in which a total of eight criminal cases were filed, and a total of more than one million bottles of bonded wine and spirits were seized, with a total value of more than 1 billion yuan (1.1 billion patacas).
According to the statement, Gongbei Customs busted a number of supply chain service companies that declared the import of overseas alcohol and other goods into the Pilot Free Trade Zones and the Special Customs Supervision Areas in the mainland by underquoting prices, and then smuggling the goods into the mainland by falsely reporting the nature of trade on the cross-border e-commerce platforms.
In June 2024, the anti-smuggling department of Gongbei Customs, in conjunction with the anti-smuggling departments of Haikou and Jinan customs, carried out arrests by sending 419 police officers to carry out the anti-contraband operation in Haikou, Jinan, Zhuhai, and other places, and successfully seized a series of cases of smuggled imported alcoholic beverages by falsely reporting the nature of trade and underreporting prices, arresting 58 suspects, and seizing 1,178 bottles of alcoholic drinks, the statement said.
In the whole of 2024, the anti-smuggling department of Gongbei Customs investigated 44 smuggling criminal cases involving the Pilot Free Trade Zones and the Special Customs Supervision Areas, involving a commercial value of 1.367 billion yuan, the statement said.
In the statement, Gongbei Customs reminded the public that taking advantage of the special regulatory policies of the Pilot Free Trade Zones and the Special Customs Supervision Areas to smuggle imported goods by making false trade declarations on the nature of goods and pricing may result in criminal charges such as a result of illegal business operations and money laundering, facing severe penalties.
*Pilot Free Trade Zones (FTZs) in the Chinese mainland are special economic areas established by the central government to test and implement new policies and reforms aimed at liberalising trade, investment, and financial services.
This undated handout photo provided by the Gongbei Customs yesterday shows customs officers checking contraband alcohol.
