Duty-not-paid cigarettes have recently been found in the school bags of cross-border school children at the border, the Macao Customs has disclosed.
An image released by the customs authority shows a carton of cigarettes, which are believed to have been obtained as duty-free merchandise, in a blue school bag containing school materials such as textbooks and worksheets.
The bureau did not disclose whether the students were caught while crossing the border alone or with an accompanying adult. It did not disclose whether any adults have been arrested or had charges pressed against them for the discovery either.
Macau law prohibits the sale of cigarettes to or by people under the age of 18.
Following the recent easing of border restrictions, the customs authority has busted several attempts to smuggle illicit cigarettes. In some cases, the cartons of cigarettes were wrapped around the waists of suspects using tape. In others, the goods were camouflaged in food packaging.
One major bust took place last Friday in a joint operation by Macau and Zhuhai customs at the Border Gate. A local man and a mainland woman, both in their early fifties, were caught trying to smuggle a total of 2,000 duty-not-paid cigarettes into Macau. Food packaging was used to wrap the goods.
The crime carries a fine up to 100,000 patacas, the customs authority said.
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