Last month customs officials intercepted the largest motorcycling smuggling case they’ve seen in a decade, with HKD4 million worth of second-hand bikes seized, including Harley-Davidsons, Ducatis, BMWs, Kawasakis and Suzukis.
On Dec. 17, customs officers grew suspicious of a container arriving from Australia that was declared as containing scrap metal. Instead they found 20 motorcycles and 111 tyres when they inspected it in Kwai Chung.
Hui Wai-ming, a customs official, told the SCMP that “it was selected for inspection because it is rare that scrap metal arrives from Australia”.
(Those smuggling “masterminds” should have probably done their research.)
Exhibiting some more handy detective work, the authorities identified two more containers also coming from Australia and also declared to be containing scrap metal.
On Dec. 30, officers opened up the two containers and found 45 motorbikes and 82 tyres. Jackpot!
Two men from Hong Kong, aged 29 and 46, were arrested and released on bail. The older man is believed to be the mastermind of a locally based smuggling ring.
An SCMP source said that the criminal would have made a tidy profit HKD1 million had the bikes gone on to their intended destinations, believed to be the mainland and Southeast Asian countries.
The authorities are continuing to investigate the case.
