Customs arrests man in Ngau Chi Wan over phone-order illicit cigarette sales

Hong Kong Customs arrested a 33-year-old local man in Ngau Chi Wan on Tuesday afternoon during an operation targeting phone-order illicit cigarette sales, seizing about 30,000 suspected contraband cigarettes.
Customs’ illicit cigarette phone-order task force began its operation earlier this month after officers intercepted a man distributing illicit cigarette flyers in a Wong Tai Sin public housing estate, which contained cigarette prices and order phone numbers.
Officers posed as buyers and contacted the seller using the number on the flyer, arranging a transaction at a housing estate in East Kowloon.
Customs arrested the man near a housing estate in Ngau Chi Wan and found about 30,000 suspected illicit cigarettes in his private car.
The man, who claimed to be unemployed, is suspected of acting as a delivery courier for illicit cigarettes.
The cigarettes have an estimated market value of about HK$135,000 and a duty value of about HK$100,000 and the private car was also detained.
Customs said the investigation into the source of the cigarettes is ongoing and further arrests are not ruled out.