The Customs and Excise Department found three suspected illicit-cigarette storage units in the same Fo Tan industrial building during an operation on 28 October.
The searches yielded about 1.2 million suspected illicit cigarettes and about 700,000 suspected alternative smoking products. Customs estimated their market value at HK$8 million and the duty value at HK$4 million.
During the operation, officers stopped a man leaving one unit with a nylon bag containing 8,000 suspected illicit cigarettes. After searching that unit, they investigated two others in the building.
Three men aged 29 to 37 were arrested. One had been charged and the other two were being detained for investigation. Customs said preliminary inquiries indicated the group had rented separate units in the same building to spread risk and reduce losses if the operation was discovered. It believes the operation disrupted a storage and distribution centre for suspected illicit cigarettes active around Sha Tin.