3 inbound travelers founded guilty and imprisoned for importing and handling duty-not-paid cigarettes and importing alternative smoking cigarettes items (with images)
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3 inbound travelers were sentenced to 6 to 7 months’ jail time and fined $800 to $1,000, by the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts the other day (September 10) and today (September 11) for importing and handling duty-not-paid cigarettes, stopping working to state them to Customs officers, along with importing alternative smoking cigarettes items, in breach of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO) and the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO).
Customs officers obstructed an inbound Mainland female traveler, aged 49, and an inbound Mainland male traveler, aged 30, at Hong Kong International Airport on June 10 and took 9 200 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 81 600 alternative smoking cigarettes items, with an approximated market price of about $282,500 and a responsibility capacity of about $30,400, from their individual luggage. The 2 travelers were consequently apprehended. They were respectively sentenced to 7 months’ jail time with a fine of $1,000, and six-months’ jail time with a fine of $1,000 today.
In addition, Customs officers obstructed a 56-year-old inbound Mainland male guest at Hong Kong International Airport on September 9 and took about 38 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes and 8 000 alternative smoking cigarettes items, with an approximated market price of about $195,000 and a responsibility capacity of about $125,000 from his individual luggage. The guest was consequently apprehended. He was sentenced to 6 months’ jail time with a fine of $800 the other day.
Customizeds invites the sentences. The custodial sentences have actually enforced a significant deterrent result and show the severity of the offenses.
Customizeds advises members of the general public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable products to which the DCO uses. Anyone who imports, handle, has, offers or purchases illegal cigarettes dedicates an offense. The optimum charge upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and jail time for 7 years.
Under the IEO, anybody who imports an alternative smoking cigarettes item into Hong Kong dedicates an offense. The optimum charge upon conviction is a fine of $2 million and jail time for 7 years.
Members of the general public might report any thought illegal cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its devoted crime-reporting e-mail account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online type (eform.cefs.gov.hk/ form/ced002).