Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers seized 140,800 cigarettes at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) on December 22.
According to the statement, on that day, customs officers at the mega-bridge’s Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) outbound cargo inspection area noticed an anomaly when checking the X-ray images of a lorry.
Upon inspection, officers discovered 704 cartons of Double Happiness brand cigarettes, totalling 140,800 cigarettes, concealed in eight specially designed containers labelled as “sofa bases”
Gongbei Customs reminded the public that in line with the Chinese mainland’s Tobacco Monopoly Law the state has implemented a monopoly management system for the production, sale, import, and export of tobacco products, operating under a tobacco monopoly licence system. The export of cigarettes requires approval from the administrative department under the State Council in charge of the tobacco monopoly and the acquisition of a licence granted by the monopoly.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs shows two customs officers checking the cigarettes they seized at the HZMB Zhuhai Port on December 22.
