Zhuhai’ Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers have caught a Hong Kong driver attempting to smuggle 1,080 cigars from Hong Kong into the mainland at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Zhuhai border checkpoint.
According to the statement, at midday on June 12, during a routine inspection at the Zhuhai checkpoint of the bridge, customs officers intercepted a Hong Kong-registered vehicle after detecting anomalies in the luggage in the car.
The statement said that a thorough examination using scanning equipment and manual inspection revealed 65 boxes containing 1,080 premium cigars - 59 boxes concealed in luggage on the rear seats and in the boot, plus 6 additional boxes hidden in the spare tyre compartment, with the total haul valued at over 100,000 yuan (113,000 patacas).
Gongbei Customs reminded the public that tobacco products are restricted items for entry into the Chinese mainland. According to relevant regulations, frequent border crossers (those entering the mainland more than once within 15 days) are allowed a duty-free allowance of 40 cigarettes (including heat-not-burn cigarettes), or two cigars, or 40 grams of pipe tobacco each time they enter the mainland.
Gongbei Customs busts HK passenger for smuggling 99 live corals
Meanwhile, a HK passenger has been caught trying to smuggle 99 endangered live corals into Zhuhai, Gongbei Customs announced in a separate statement yesterday.
According to the statement, Gongbei Customs caught the passenger last month at the Zhuhai checkpoint of the delta bridge for attempting to smuggle 99 endangered corals into the mainland.
According to the statement, at 5 p.m. on June 17, customs officers at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge’s Zhuhai checkpoint intercepted a suspicious Guangdong-Hong Kong dual-plate private vehicle that seemed to be deliberating evading customs inspection in the inbound passenger channel.
The statement pointed out that when searching the vehicle, they uncovered 99 suspected live endangered corals concealed in several white plastic bags. Under questioning, the passenger admitted to smuggling the protected specimens on behalf of someone else for a “transportation fee”, the statement said.
The statement identified the confiscated live corals as belonging to the Scleractinia species protected under CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) and classified as the Chinese mainland’s Category II protected wildlife.
In the statement, Gongbei Customs reminded the public that according to CITES and the Wildlife Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), as well as the regulations on the import and export of endangered wild animals and plants, it is prohibited to trade, carry, or mail endangered species and their products across border checkpoints without legal import and export certificates. The statement noted that serious violations may lead to criminal liability.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday shows the 1,080 cigars seized by customs officers at Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge last month.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday shows the 99 endangered live corals confiscated by its officers at the Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge last month.
