Hong Kong Customs Busts Large - Scale Gold Bar Smuggling Case

Recently, a large - scale gold bar smuggling case cracked by Hong Kong Customs has attracted attention. On March 12, it was learned that Customs seized 64 kilograms of gold bars in a batch of goods transported from Hong Kong to Japan. The gold bars were mixed in packages and equipped with locators. If the smuggling of this batch of gold bars had been successful, about HK$4.6 million in tariffs could have been evaded.

It was noted that in March 2024, Hong Kong Customs seized a batch of 146 kilograms of smuggled gold cast into compressor parts, involving an amount of about HK$84 million.

According to Hong Kong Customs, on March 5, Customs found something abnormal when inspecting a batch of goods destined for Japan. The original declaration stated that the goods contained toys, hats and lights, with a total of 124 packages weighing 1.1 tons. After screening through X - ray images, it was found that the cargo density of 4 out of the 124 packages was extremely high, seriously inconsistent with the declared weight. As a result, 64 suspected smuggled gold bars weighing about 64 kilograms and worth about HK$46 million were seized from the packages. Customs also found locators in each iron box containing the gold bars. According to the preliminary investigation by Customs, it is suspected that the locators were placed in the packages by lawbreakers to retrieve the gold bars.

It is understood that the involved mainland logistics company is located in Guangdong Province. Customs has not found any suspicious points about the company for the time being. It is not ruled out that lawbreakers mixed the gold bars into the packages after the goods arrived in Hong Kong and attempted to smuggle the packages to Japan. According to the disclosure of Customs, if this batch of gold bars had been successfully transported to Japan, about HK$4.6 million in tariffs could have been evaded. Currently, the case has been handed over to the Organized Crime Investigation Bureau of Customs for further investigation, and arrests may be made.

It was noted that this kind of gold smuggling case is not the first. In March 2024, when inspecting goods at Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong Customs seized 146 kilograms of smuggled gold in a batch of goods declared to contain two air compressors, involving an amount of about HK$84 million. This was the largest gold smuggling case ever seized by Customs. The gold was first melted into liquid, cast into air compressor parts, and then packed into packages in an attempt to pass through undetected. This was also the first time that Customs found someone using the method of recasting to conceal the smuggling of gold.