Hong Kong Customs arrests 149 people in fight against illegal cigarette trade by telephone

Customs officials in Hong Kong have arrested 149 residents, including three students, during a crackdown on the sale of untaxed cigarettes in public housing estates, seizing contraband valued at HK$5.6 million (US$718,000).

As The Post learned on Wednesday, most of those arrested were suspected of purchasing illegal tobacco products by telephone. The group included six teenagers, including three schoolchildren.

Deputy head of the tax crime investigation agency Iris Cheung Sui-man said the group consisted of 127 men and 22 women aged between 15 and 78. Some of them are suspected of selling illegal tobacco products.

Customs arrested 12,273 people in connection with 12,850 cases of illegal cigarette possession in the first eight months of this year, an 86 percent increase from the 6,598 people arrested in connection with 7,096 cases during the same period in 2023.

According to a source, many of those arrested were detained at entry points by air, land or sea upon arrival in Hong Kong from mainland China or overseas.