Customs officers confiscate over 40,000 items of smuggled {hardware} throughout Hurricane Saola
What simply occurred? Chinese language taxation insurance policies have created a worthwhile grey marketplace for {hardware} smugglers. Hong Kong, which affords a lot decrease VAT charges and gives quick access to its border, has turn out to be a preferred pick-up vacation spot for smugglers making an attempt to sneak items again to the Chinese language mainland. Customs officers have apprehended numerous people making an attempt every thing from taping {hardware} to their physique to carrying stuffed prosthetics. Final week, one man took a very totally different route, as a substitute counting on Mom Nature to assist him slip throughout the border.
The cash that may be made by avoiding mainland China’s worth added tax (VAT) is a draw too robust for some to withstand. In a report initially printed by Tom’s Hardware, Gongbei customs officers had been not too long ago alerted to suspicious conduct after observing a passenger car touring via their border station. The car doubtless drew elevated scrutiny from the officers as a consequence of its try and cross the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau bridge in the midst of a class 4 storm.
The car’s driver, a {hardware} smuggler from mainland China, thought Hurricane Saola would offer the right cowl to sneak smuggled {hardware} out of Hong Kong and again throughout the Chinese language border. Sadly for him, Mom Nature could not maintain up her finish of the discount. Customs officers approached the vehicle, and upon inspection discovered greater than 1,500 processors, 1,470 reminiscence modules, 30 graphics playing cards, and over 40,000 NAND flash modules hid within the car’s trunk.
Hurricane #Saola is about to go inside 50 km of Hong Kong as a class 4 hurricane with winds reaching 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour). That is Hong Kong’s waterfront earlier at the momentpic.twitter.com/vtpzaeDW9n
– Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 1, 2023
The try is anything but a new prevalence at Chinese language border crossings. Earlier this 12 months, the company reported that greater than $4 million in smuggled {hardware} had been seized by customs officers.
In 2021, customs officers confiscated greater than $123,000 in Intel tenth era Core i7 and Core i9 processors that had been strapped to a driver’s ribs and calves. Authorities stopped one other smuggling attempt in April of this 12 months, when two males had been found illegally transporting greater than 70 graphics playing cards and 350 reside lobsters. As not too long ago as last month, a car scan led authorities to find one other driver with a complete of 837 Intel twelfth and thirteenth gen processors and 900 Corsair reminiscence modules.
Though seized by authorities earlier than reaching its vacation spot, the smuggled {hardware} will finally discover its manner into the palms of paying prospects. Quite than destroying confiscated items, customs authorities will promote the smuggled {hardware} in a public public sale per Chinese language rules. All proceeds from the legally bought {hardware} will go on to the state treasury, the place it should doubtless be used to assist thwart future smuggling makes an attempt.
