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| Some of the cigarettes found on the 2 helpers |
Hong Kong Customs reported late Sunday night the seizure of around 200,000 suspected illicit cigarettes from two storage and distribution centers in Sheung Shui said to be operated primarily by foreign domestic helpers.
Two female foreign domestic helpers aged 40 and 48
but whose nationalities were not disclosed, were arrested.
Customs said the untaxed cigarettes have an
estimated market value of about $900,000 and duty potential of about $660,000.
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| PINDUTIN PARA SA DETALYE |
The arrests came after customs officers saw the two
women carrying suspicious nylon bags in Choi Yuen Estate at the crack of dawn on Sunday. Upon checking, about
90,000 pieces of cigarettes were found inside the bags.
The helpers then escorted the officers to their
employers’ public rental flats where an additional 110,000 illicit cigarettes
were discovered.
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| Basahin ang detalye! |
Preliminary
investigation reportedly revealed that the domestic helpers used their employer’s
public housing units where they also lived, as storage centres for the contraband
cigarettes.
According
to customs, the helpers used the flats as delivery addresses and collected the
illicit cigarettes in small batches to avoid detection by their employers. They
distributed them during early hours on holidays, but it was not clear who the
recipients were.
Customs
said it will continue investigating to find out the source and distribution
channels for the illicit cigarettres.
Further
arrests have not been ruled out.
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| The haul was kept inside public housing flats belonging to the helpers' employers |
In
Hong Kong, tobacco duty amounts to 80 cents per stick, pushing up the price of
a 20-stick pack to more than $90. But on the black market, each pack sells from
$20 to $30.
Customs
warned that it is an offence to buy or cigarettes for which tax has not been
paid. Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing
with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes could be fined a
maximum of $1 million and jailed for up to two years.
The public is urged to report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).
