Two cross-border parents apprehended over alleged parallel trading

Two parents of cross-border students have been arrested by Chinese customs at Gongbei, the mainland counterpart of the Border Gate, over allegations of parallel trading, the Gongbei authorities announced.

With a daily cap of a single round trip applying to several Macau-Zhuhai border checkpoints, both governments are attempting to control parallel trading, which the mainland referred to as smuggling.

Parents or registered guardians of cross-border students are exempted from the restriction on the number of round trips, so they can conduct more than a single round trip in a day.

Gongbei Customs revealed that at least two such adults had allegedly abused the exemption and smuggled goods from Macau to the mainland.

Although it did not state on which days the alleged crime took place, Gongbei Customs disclosed that a parent of a cross-border Macau student was intercepted by officers on duty at the “Nothing to Declare” corridor at the Gongbei Border Checkpoint. The parent was found to be carrying several bottles of Moutai Chinese wines. That was the fifth time that the parent entered mainland China that day.

The next day, the officers at the same border checkpoint apprehended another parent, who was carrying “a batch of iPads and cosmetic products” while trying to enter Zhuhai. It was further disclosed that the parents had been caught bringing six laptop computers at a time into mainland China, and that the parent crossed the border six times that day.

The two parents are now restricted to a single round trip per day across the border.

Gongbei Customs revealed that not only did these parents abuse the system and smuggle goods into Zhuhai, some also instructed their children to smuggle goods on their way home.

Information on the matter will be provided to the Macau government for educational purposes, Gongbei Customs noted.