Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday that its officers seized 180,000 cigarettes at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge (HZMB) on March 4.
According to the statement, on that day, customs officers at the delta bridge’s Zhuhai checkpoint noticed an abnormality in the X-ray scanned image of a lorry.
Upon further inspection, customs officers discovered “BOHEM” brand cigarettes concealed within cardboard boxes wrapped in woven plastic bags, adding that a total of 900 cartons, amounting to 180,000 cigarettes were seized by the customs.
BOHEM cigarettes are a premium “cigar-cigarette” hybrid brand produced by South Korean manufacturer KT&G, according to Google AI Overview.
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 tobacco monopoly and the acquisition of a tobacco monopoly licence.
Customs seizes 260 cultural relics at Qingmao checkpoint
Meanwhile, Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a separate statement yesterday that its officers seized 260 cultural relics at the Qingmao checkpoint recently.
According to the statement, customs officers at the Qingmao checkpoint’s passenger inspection hall noticed an abnormal image during the X-ray inspection of a traveller’s hand luggage.
Upon further inspection, customs officers discovered a batch of suspected cultural artefacts in the traveller’s backpack and crossbody bag, the statement said.
After appraisal by the Guangdong Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Station, the batch was found to include 104 items barred from being taken out of the Chinese mainland, and 156 items restricted from being taken out of the country.
The statement pointed that the contraband mainly consisted of documents, land deeds, official correspondence, letters, books, badges, and tax receipts dating from the Qing Dynasty to the Republican period. These artefacts provide valuable insight into the political, economic, social, and folk customs of their respective eras, as well as important historical events, the statement noted.
Gongbei Customs reminded the public that according to the Cultural Relics Protection Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), any cultural relics intended for export must undergo inspection by an authorised cultural relics exit-entry examination agency designated by the State Council’s cultural relics administration.
Upon approval, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage will issue an exit permit to verified cultural relics, and the relics can only be exported through designated border checkpoints.
Any entity or individual shipping, mailing, or carrying cultural relics out of the Chinese mainland must declare them to customs, and customs officers will release the items only upon presentation of the verified cultural relics’ export permits.
These undated handout photos provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday shows cigarettes and cultural relics seized by its officers at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge’s Zhuhai checkpoint and Qingmao checkpoint, respectively.
