Contraband hidden inside car doors & seats
A local man driving a private car was intercepted by the Macau Customs Service at the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Monday for attempting to smuggle 4,140 cigars worth about 90,000 patacas into the mainland, according to a statement by the Macau Customs Service on Tuesday.
According to the statement, the Macau Customs Service received a tip-off from its counterpart in Gongbei on Monday and intercepted a Zhuhai-bound Guangdong-Macau-licensed private car at the Barrier Gate checkpoint on Monday afternoon.
After a preliminary inspection of the car, the customs officers found that the vehicle was suspicious, so they searched the interior of the vehicle with a fibre optic endoscope. The officers discovered a quantity of undeclared cigars hidden inside the car doors. The officers then used a mobile X-ray vehicle to conduct a thorough inspection of the car, in the course of which they discovered undeclared cigars inside the back seat of the vehicle. A total of 4,140 undeclared cigars valued approximately 90,000 patacas were found in the car.
The male suspect is in his sixties. He admitted that he had hidden the contraband in his car before driving to the checkpoint en route to Zhuhai to fool customs officers on both sides of the border.
According to the statement, the Macau Customs Service will conduct further investigations into the case and may temporarily suspend the vehicle’s Guangdong-Macau cross-border travel permit. The suspect has violated the External Trade Law, facing a fine of up to 50,000 patacas, according to the statement. The contraband has been confiscated.
At the same time, the Customs Service urges the public to report any suspicious border activities such as the smuggling and selling of undeclared items by calling its hotline 28965001, sending a fax to 28965003 or sending an email to info@customs.gov.mo.
This handout photo provided by the Macau Customs Service on Tuesday shows 4,140 cigars seized by the local customs officers on Monday.
This handout photo provided by the Macau Customs Service on Tuesday shows cigars found by local customs officers inside a local driver’s car door and back seat on Monday.
