BEIJING: Chinese customs officials have arrested four suspected smugglers and confiscated more than 520,000 bottles of French cognac worth 400 million yuan (HK$486 million) that are believed to have been illegally imported.
The suspects were reportedly working for a Shenzhen-based trade company importing Louis Royer X.O Cognac, one of the world’s finest brandies.
Officials, who have only just released details of the case, began a special investigation into the trading company in January after customs declaration applications were submitted to Luogang customs in Guangdong province, which is nearly 150km from the company’s Shenzhen head office.
The confiscated cognac had been imported from the French company, Louis Royer and stored in a warehouse in Shenzhen.
After four months of inquiries, officials discovered evidence that allegedly showed that the trading company had been avoiding paying the correct excise duty and VAT on the imported cognac by lowering the declared price by 30 per cent and also falsifying customs declarations at its Hong Kong company.
Customs officials and police carried out a raid in April and detained four men at a Shenzhen office and also seized more than 520,000 bottles of cognac inside a warehouse in a village in Shenzhen’s Luohu district.
Customs officials ordered the immediate removal of the wine, which filled seven trucks and took seven days to examine.
The Chinanews.com report did not say whether the four suspects would face trial.
Fine wine, often considered a symbol of wealth and status, has been growing in popularity on the mainland, especially among rich business people and powerful officials.
