The Macau Customs Service announced in a statement on Sunday that its officers have busted five smuggling cases in six days, seizing 10 orchids, 24 bottles of spirits, and 46 used smartphones.
Local customs identified the five smugglers as aged between 22 and 67, comprising mainland Chinese and local residents.
On September 12, customs officers at the Barrier Gate entry vehicle lane intercepted a car, based on an alert from the cross-border Risk Management System. A follow-up inspection revealed 10 potted orchids in a box on the backseat of the car.
The statement underlined that smuggling of orchids is a violation of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora).
Meanwhile, on Wednesday, customs officers at the Barrier Gate entry vehicle lane intercepted a cross-border car under, also based on an alert from the “Risk Management System.” A follow-up inspection revealed 24 bottles of spirits hidden under the backseat of the car.
In two other cases, on September 13 and September 17, customs officers at the Qingmao pedestrian border checkpoint and Barrier Gate, respectively, noticed three males behaving abnormally, appearing to be nervous, while passing through the checkpoint, raising suspicions that they might be carrying undeclared items. Upon inspection, it was discovered that they concealed a total of 46 used smartphones around various parts of their bodies, such as wrapped around their waists and calves, in an attempt to smuggle them from Macau to the Chinese mainland.
According to Macau’s External Trade Law, the five smugglers face a maximum fine of 100,000 patacas each, while the seized contraband has been confiscated.
This undated handout provided by the Macau Customs Service on Sunday shows 10 potted orchids in a box on the backseat of a smuggler’s car.
