Sudden smuggling spike

The Macao Customs has uncovered six different attempted smugglings of plants, seafood and wines during the period Jan. 23 to Feb. 2 at two border checkpoints with Zhuhai.

All goods were uncovered at either the Border Gate checkpoint or the Hengqin checkpoint, and have been confiscated.

The Customs intercepted the six cases using two specific alarm and inspection systems.

On Jan. 23, Customs officers discovered 150kg of lobsters in the back seat and trunk of a cross-border vehicle. The next evening, 27kg of orchids were found in the back seat of another vehicle. The next morning, 25kg of sweet potatoes and 1.3kg of orchids were discovered in the back seats of two separate vehicles.

On Jan. 30, 15L of red wines were discovered in the back seat of another vehicle. On the morning of Feb. 2, 10kg of orchids were also found in a vehicle.

There were seven other cases of attempted smuggling.

The 13 cases altogether involve 13 people from Macau, Hong Kong and mainland China aged between 34 and 76 years.

The Customs have already charged the smugglers.

Those trying to smuggle orchids into Macau will face additional charges due to the endangered status of the plant.