An undercover purchase at a Chinese medicine clinic in Tsuen Wan led customs to arrest its 78-year-old person in charge and seize about 100,000 suspected illicit cigarettes, according to the department’s account.
Customs said officers had identified the premises as a suspected illicit-cigarette retail outlet and posed as customers there on the afternoon of 17 September. They found the man allegedly selling cigarettes below the statutory tobacco-duty level, then revealed their identities and arrested him.
The seized cigarettes had an estimated market value of about HK$440,000 and an estimated duty value of about HK$320,000. The seizure was made during an anti-illicit-cigarette operation in the district.
Customs believed the suspected operation had been placed in an older tenement area without lifts, where transport was inconvenient. It said a subdivided unit had been rented to reduce enforcement risks and conceal the alleged activity, with the clinic used as its cover.
Star Headline later reported that the man had been charged after his arrest. The report did not give details of the charge. Customs said the premises had been operating as both a suspected distribution centre and retail point serving the Tsuen Wan area.
Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, handling, possessing, selling or buying illicit cigarettes is an offence. On conviction, the maximum penalty is a HK$2 million fine and seven years’ imprisonment. Customs said suspected illicit-cigarette activity can be reported on its 24-hour hotline, 182 8080.