At a press conference held on April 8, officers of the Customs and Excise Department revealed that the market value of the smuggled gold seized in this smuggling case was the largest gold smuggling case ever recorded by the Customs and Excise Department.
Hong Kong Customs held a press conference on April 8 to report on the largest gold smuggling case in its history. (Photo courtesy of the Hong Kong government and Ta Kung Wen Wei Group)
On 27 March, the Airport Division of the Customs and Excise Department inspected a batch of air cargo declared to be carrying air compressors for export from Hong Kong to Japan at the Customs Inspection Yard of the Customs. The cargo, which was loaded in two large wooden boxes with a total weight of 775 kilograms, was X-rayed and found to be unusually dense in parts of the machine, which was therefore dismantled by customs for thorough inspection.
The two different models of air compressors in the wooden box are blue and green, and the surface of the machine is brand new with no obvious signs of modification. Due to the suspicious situation of the machine, the Customs officers first opened the metal casing of the blue air compressor, which has a complex internal structure, including a number of different parts such as a motor, pump and separator. Later, when Customs officers opened the X-ray to inspect the highest-density motor parts, they found that the shaft core of the motor was surrounded by coils tied with adhesive tape, which was different from ordinary motors.
Customs officers dismantled the gears and removed the motor shaft core, and found unusual glue marks on both sides of the metal parts, which were clearly dented when gently struck with a small hammer, indicating that the metal parts were soft in texture. They scraped the silver paint off the surface of the metal piece, revealing the golden inside. Assistant Superintendent of Air Cargo Section 3 of the Airport Division of the Customs and Excise Department, Mr Ho Tin-hong, said he believed that the smugglers had evaded Customs detection by casting metal machine components with gold.
They opened and examined it, removed the shaft of the motor, scraped off the silver surface of the metal parts, and found that it was gold, seizing about 146 kilograms of suspected gold.
The suspected smuggled gold, disguised as air compressor parts, has an estimated market value of about HK$84 million.
Customs pointed out that it cannot be ruled out that some criminals have opened companies with no substantive business and entrusted some logistics companies to send machines to Japan in the form of air goods, believing that criminals expect to evade local taxes.
After follow-up investigation, Customs officers arrested a 31-year-old man suspected to be in connection with the case in Hung Hom on April 3. Investigation is ongoing and the arrested man has been released on bail pending further investigation.