Hong Kong Customs yesterday (November 26) seized 162 pieces of suspected smuggled diamonds with an estimated market value of about $6.4 million at Heung Yuen Wai Control Point. This is the largest diamond smuggling case detected by Customs in the past three years.

     Customs officers intercepted an outgoing lorry at Heung Yuen Wai Control Point for inspection yesterday. The batch of suspected smuggled diamonds was found inside a pocket of the trousers worn by the driver. The 33-year-old male driver was then arrested.

     After follow-up investigation, Customs officers further arrested a 33-year-old man suspected to be connected with the case at a public rental housing unit in Sham Shui Po on the same day.

     An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement action against cross-boundary smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

Ends/Friday, November 27, 2020
Issued at HKT 15:50

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