Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs announced in a statement on Friday that its officers seized 8,000 cigarettes at the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) Zhuhai Port (checkpoint) on July 31.
According to the statement, on that day, while conducting a routine inspection of outbound passenger vehicles, customs officers noticed that a Guangdong-Hong Kong dual-plate passenger vehicle driver was behaving suspiciously and therefore stopped the car for inspection.
Upon further inspection, customs officers discovered a total of 40 cartons of cigarettes – amounting to 8,000 cigarettes – in a suitcase, a backpack, and a travel bag onboard the vehicle, the statement said. The statement identified the cigarette brands seized in the operation as “BOHEM”, “Double Happiness”, and “Wuyeshen”.
Gongbei Customs reminded the public that in line with the Chinese mainland’s Tobacco Monopoly Law, the state has implemented a monopoly management system for the production, sale, import, and export of tobacco products, operating under a tobacco monopoly licence system. The export of cigarettes requires approval from the administrative department under the State Council in charge of the official tobacco monopoly and the acquisition of a tobacco monopoly licence.
This undated handout photo provided by Zhuhai’s Gongbei Customs on Friday shows 40 cartons of cigarettes, comprising three brands, seized by its officers at the HZMB on July 31.
