“Smugglers could have evaded about HK$8.4 million in taxes if the precious metal was successfully smuggled into the country,” Lau said.
The consignment, bound for Tokyo comprising two air compressors with a combined weight of 700kg (1,543lbs), was selected for inspection at the airport’s cargo terminal on March 27, according to the Customs and Excise Department.
Lau said the gold parts in the shape of two motor rotors, a gear and three screw shafts were concealed in the machines’ motors and pumps.
“We believe the smugglers melted the gold and put it into designated moulds to shape the precious metal into motor rotors, a gear and screw shafts, before painting it in silver colour to look like machine parts,” he said.
He said customs officers discovered a gold motor rotor and two other gold parts in each compressor.
Hong Kong customs arrests Macau chauffeur, seizes gold bars worth HK$10 million
Hong Kong customs arrests Macau chauffeur, seizes gold bars worth HK$10 million
The two rotors weighed 43.2kg and 45.3kg each, while the other four gold items had a total weight of 57.5kg, according to the authority.
“We confiscated gold with a combined weight of 146kg concealed in the two machines,” Lau said. “The estimated value of the seized precious metal is HK$84 million.”
He added it was the biggest seizure of smuggled gold in terms of value and weight since records began in 2000.
On Wednesday last week, customs officers arrested the director of a local company which was the consignor in the document.
“An initial investigation showed the firm had no actual business. We don’t rule out the possibility it was a shell company,” Lau said.
The 31-year-old man was detained on suspicion of attempting to export unmanifested cargo – an offence punishable by up to seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.
The acting senior superintendent said it was possible the gold parts in the shape of rotors and wheels were made in the city and assembled into the machine.
Lau described the smuggling operation as “well-planned”, saying criminals turned gold into machine parts with “deep thinking and careful consideration”.
“They also made use of the strong structure of air compressors to conceal the gold in an attempt to avoid detection,” he said.
Hong Kong customs arrests Macau resident after seizing HK$10 million in gold bars
Hong Kong customs arrests Macau resident after seizing HK$10 million in gold bars
Lau said customs would exchange intelligence with overseas law enforcement agencies to determine the origin and the consignee of the precious metal.
“We have dealt a heavy blow against the cross-border gold smuggling syndicate because we confiscated HK$84 million worth of the precious metal,” he said.
The suspect had been released on bail pending further investigation and further arrests were possible, according to the department.
It was the third major gold smuggling case customs officers discovered this year.
On February 22, Customs officers arrested a Macau resident and seized gold bars worth HK$10 million hidden inside his car before he left Hong Kong via the world’s longest sea crossing – Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge.
It was the second such seizure in six weeks. On January 8, they seized the same amount of gold bars hidden in a secret compartment under the centre console next to the driver seat. Its 32-year-old driver, also a Macau identity card holder, was arrested.
Customs officials believed the gold bars seized in the two cases were intended for mainland China, where smugglers could make a profit from the price difference.
