Hong Kong customs seizes B42.5m of smuggled platinum, its largest haul in 20 years

Customs displays the HK$10 million (42.5 million baht) worth of platinum bars at its headquarters in North Point. (Photo: South China Morning Post)

The Customs and Excise Department said on Thursday that the truck's driver, a 48-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of attempting to export unmanifested goods - an offence punishable by up to seven years in jail and a HK$2 million fine.

The outgoing truck, which had been declared as carrying no cargo, was intercepted for inspection at Man Kam To control point on Sept 13 while it was travelling to mainland China.

Inspector Leung Chi-hang of the control point's cargo and vehicle processing unit said the battery box in the space between the driver's cabin and the cargo hold was unusually secured with a plastic cover and iron locks, which aroused officers' suspicions.

"Officers used tools to break the locks and discovered eight slabs of platinum hidden in a narrow space between two batteries," he said.

Inspector Woo Suet-yi of customs' syndicate crimes investigation bureau said officers confiscated 41 kilogrammes of platinum worth HKcopy0 million from the battery box.

She said it was customs' largest platinum seizure on record and surpassed the previous 30kg logged in 2013.

"In recent months, the price of precious metals, especially platinum, has been rising. We do not rule out the possibility that the smuggling of platinum to mainland China was to meet investment demand," she said.

Woo said that due to the absence of tariffs and import restrictions on platinum by central authorities, and the lack of price difference between Hong Kong and the mainland, customs officers were also investigating whether the haul was linked to money-laundering activities.

The truck driver was released on bail, pending further investigation.

Further arrests were not ruled out as the investigation was still ongoing.

Officers from the department's syndicate crimes investigation bureau are following up on the case.

In the past six months, customs officers foiled three attempts to smuggle more than HKcopy04 million of gold disguised as machine parts from the city into Japan.

In these three cases - detected in April, July and August - gold was moulded and camouflaged as components and fixed into machines that were destined for Japan.