Customs officers at Wanzai Port (border checkpoint) intercepted 211,799 undeclared foreign coins with an estimated value of approximately 1.62 million yuan (HK$1.77 million) at an outbound cross-border e-commerce freight channel recently, Gongbei Customs announced in a statement yesterday.
According to the statement, customs officers at Wanzai Port conducted an inspection on a batch of outbound e-commerce freight after detecting anomalies in the cargo vehicle’s weight and transport trajectory.
Upon a detailed search, officers discovered two large wooden crates concealed at the rear of the vehicle’s cargo compartment containing a massive quantity of euro and Swiss franc coins.
The statement noted that a detailed count confirmed 88,601-euro coins with a total face value of 44,300.50 euros, and 123,198 Swiss franc coins with a total face value of 159,898 francs. On October 8, the Guangdong Branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) authenticated the coins as genuine currency, valuing the combined total at approximately 1.62 million yuan based on prevailing exchange rates.
Gongbei Customs reminded the public that foreign banknotes and coins are classified as restricted items for import and export. Only institutions that have obtained statutory qualifications to transport foreign currency banknotes and coins across the border may do so in accordance with the law.
Transporting, carrying, or mailing foreign currency out of the Chinese mainland in violation of relevant laws and regulations will result in legal liability, the statement added.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs yesterday shows a portion of the 211,799 foreign coins seized from an outbound e-commerce freight truck at Wanzai Port.
