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Hong Kong Customs officers netted about 40,000 litres of unmanifested marked oil, worth about $200,000 in an anti-smuggling operation yesterday afternoon (March 30).
At about 5.30pm, Customs officers intercepted a local fishing vessel in the waters off Fan Lau, Lantau Island. The vessel was found to have frequently refuelled in the area in the previous two days. During an inspection, the officers uncovered about 40,000 litres of unmanifested marked oil in an enlarged fuel tank.
Three male Mainlanders (the captain and two crewmen aged 30 to 35) were arrested. They will be charged and will appear in the Tsuen Wan Magistrates' Court tomorrow (April 1).
A spokesman for the Customs and Excise Department today (March 31) said, "Hong Kong Customs officers have noticed lately a rise in cross-boundary smuggling of diesel to the Mainland. We believe this is related to the recent increase in the retail diesel price by 20 cents a litre on the Mainland.
"To strategically crack down on such illicit activities, Customs officers of the Special Task Force and Marine Enforcement Division mounted a surveillance operation from March 29 in the southern waters off Lautau Island where fleets of oil barges were moored, and cracked the case," he said.
Under the Import and Export Ordinance, anyone found guilty of "attempting to export unmanifested cargo" or "making use of an altered structure of any vessel for the purpose of smuggling" is liable on conviction to a fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years. The vessel involved in the offences would be subject to confiscation.
Ends/Friday, March 31, 2006
Issued at HKT 19:15
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