2 inbound guests founded guilty and imprisoned for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes (with pictures)
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2 inbound guests were respectively sentenced to 4 and 8 months’ jail time and each fined $2,000 by the West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts today (October 5) for importing duty-not-paid cigarettes and stopping working to state them to Customs officers, in breach of the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (DCO).
Customs officers obstructed an inbound 54-year-old Mainland female traveler getting here in Hong Kong from Tokyo, Japan, at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) on April 14 and took about 12 000 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an approximated market price of about $50,000 and a task capacity of about $40,000, from her individual luggage. The guest was consequently detained.
In addition, Customs officers obstructed an inbound 31-year-old Mainland male traveler showing up in Hong Kong from Tokyo, Japan, at HKIA on October 3 and took an overall of about 38 200 duty-not-paid cigarettes, with an approximated market price of about $172,000 and a responsibility capacity of about $126,000, from his individual luggage. The traveler was consequently detained.
Custom-mades invites the sentences. The custodial sentences have actually enforced a significant deterrent impact and show the severity of the offenses.
Custom-mades advises members of the general public that under the DCO, cigarettes are dutiable products to which the DCO uses. Anybody 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.
Members of the general public might report any believed 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).