Hong Kong customs officers have seized live lobsters worth HK$1.24 million (US$159,000) in an anti-smuggling operation on an outlying island before they could be shipped to mainland China to satisfy high demand for the delicacy in the festive season.
Boxes of lobsters weighing 3.1 tonnes were discovered in Tai O fishing village on Lantau Island at around 7pm on Wednesday after five electric tricycles transported them to a loading bay on Sun Ki Street.
Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung of customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau on Thursday said the unregistered tricycles appeared to be new, adding a smuggling syndicate might have hired them to deliver the contraband to the waterfront area from the narrow lanes of Tai O.
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Three to four men were believed to have been porters at the seashore, Lau noted, stressing that two speedboats with turned-off navigation lights were spotted heading towards the waterfront area.
The porters, as well as two tricycle drivers, were spotted loading boxes onto the speedboats after they were moored on the seashore.
“As customs officers moved in and attempted to intercept those on the seashore, the loading crew abandoned the cargo and jumped onto the two speedboats to escape,” Lau said, adding the boats fled towards Chinese waters.
He said the other three tricycle drivers had also abandoned their vehicles and fled the scene on foot.
Officers confiscated dozens of boxes of lobsters, as well as the five tricycles, but no arrests were made.
The seized lobsters were estimated to be worth HK$1.24 million, according to the Customs and Excise Department.
“The lobsters are subject to tariffs of about 80 per cent on the mainland,” the superintendent said. “Smugglers could have evaded around HK$1 million in taxes if the cargo was successfully smuggled across the border.”
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He said high-end food products, such as lobsters, were sought after on the mainland in the run-up to Lunar New Year and customs would continue their stringent enforcement actions to combat cross-border smuggling activities.
Lau did not rule out arrests and said that an investigation was under way to determine the origin and the final destination of the lobsters.
In Hong Kong, exporting unmanifested cargo is punishable by up to seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.
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The previous major seizure of smuggled lobsters was made on December 14 when customs officers intercepted a fishing vessel and confiscated HK$1.3 million worth of lobsters. Four men were arrested.
“Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement actions against cross-boundary smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis,” the department said on Thursday.
