Three men were arrested as customs busted two large-scale illicit cigarette smuggling cases worth HK$150 million, with a duty potential of about HK$100 million, earlier this month in Tai Kok Tsui and Sheung Shui. Upon inspection, about 11 million illicit cigarettes were seized inside a 40-foot container and a 58-year-old male driver was arrested. Investigations are ongoing and customs said they will continue to trace the source and flow of the illicit cigarettes. Including the illicit cigarettes seized in this operation, customs have seized about 694 million suspected illicit cigarettes this year as on Wednesday. The number already exceeded last year's total seizure amount of about 427 million suspected illicit cigarettes by 60 percent, customs added.
