The Macau Customs Service announced in a statement on Tuesday that two local drivers smuggled 5,375 smartphones and 20 e-watches into Macau.
Customs officers identified the two local smugglers as males aged 36 and 38, who told the officers that they had been hired by the same syndicate to smuggle goods into Macau. Both side that the syndicate had offered them a “transportation fee” for the “service”.
According to the statement, at dawn on Tuesday, the Macau Customs Service received an alert from the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge’s risk management system, flagging two suspicious inbound vehicles en route from Hong Kong to Macau. Officers launched a tracking operation and intercepted both cars in a northern district car park, where they searched the two vehicles and drivers.
The statement pointed out that an inspection of the two vehicles uncovered 5,375 used mobile phones and 20 used e-watches, with the total haul valued at approximately 2.6 million patacas. Both suspects presented unsigned customs declaration documents during the operation.
According to Macau’s External Trade Law, both drivers face a maximum fine 50,000 patacas each, while the seized contraband has been confiscated.
This undated handout photo provided by the Macau Customs Service on Tuesday shows the 5,375 smartphones and 20 e-watches seized from the two smugglers’ vehicles.
