Hong Kong customs officers have found HK$4.8 million worth of illegal cigarettes hidden inside mobile toilets being brought into the city from mainland China.
Officials seized the contraband on Wednesday after it was found on a truck that had crossed the border.
It was the fourth time smugglers have been caught trying to bring illegal cigarettes into Hong Kong this year, and took the total street value of goods seized by authorities to HK$13 million.
The vehicle’s manifest said it was carrying nine mobile toilets when it arrived at the Lok Ma Chau control point from Shenzhen, according to the Customs & Excise Department.
But an X-ray showed a difference in density between the two mobile toilets near the container door and the seven at the back. This prompted officers to open all the cubicles, where they found 1.8 million cigarettes concealed in 203 carton boxes, which completely filled the seven mobile toilets.
Officers arrested a 54-year-old male driver, who had since been released on bail pending further investigation. The truck was impounded.
Brian Chan Kai-ho, divisional commander of the Revenue and General Investigation Bureau, said all the cigarettes confiscated so far this month had come from the mainland, and were for local distribution.
The operation came just two days after officers found 1.6 million cigarettes, with an estimated street value of HK$4.4 million, hidden among vegetables in a truck at the Man Kam To border crossing.
