Hong Kong Customs officers yesterday discovered a shiny surprise after popping open the trunk of a car coming in from Shenzhen.
Goooooooold.
Some 35 one-kilogram bars of the precious metal, with an estimated market value of about HK$11 million (US$1.4 million), were seized by officers at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point after they searched the private car of a 31-year-old man.
The driver was arrested on suspicion of smuggling while the investigation continued, according to a statement.
Under Hong Kong laws, importing or exporting unmanifested cargo — aka smugglin’ — can lead to a HK$2 million (US$256,000) fine and up to seven years in prison.
Despite the penalties, smugglers, however, keep trying their luck.
Police in October arrested a 55-year-old man trying to bring in some 15kg worth of gold bars into the territory.
While a few weeks before that, a Hong Kong airline stewardess was arrested in Tokyo for allegedly smuggling gold bars on a flight to the Japanese capital.
According to official statistics, Hong Kong Customs handled 4,859 cases classified as “import and export” violations last year, leading to some HK$656 million (US$82 million) in seizures and 4,202 arrests.
