Cigarette smuggling occurrences in Hong Kong surged 80% last year, accounting for 68% of the total number of cases handled by Hong Kong Customs, officials said. At a news conference today, the Customs and Excise Department said more than 21,000 of the 31,000 total cases they handled in 2024 involved illicit cigarettes.
Chan Tsz-tat, who became the city’s Commissioner of Customs and Excise in December, attributed the surge in cigarette smuggling cases to a 94% increase of inbound travelers found with cigarettes that exceeded the 19-stick duty-free limit. Chan said the underlying reason for the increase is that Hong Kong increased the tobacco duty from HK$1.9 (24 US cents) to HK$3.3 per cigarette over the past two years.
Customs seized about 600 million sticks of illicit cigarettes, which is actually a decrease of 6% compared with the previous year as smuggling syndicates are lowering the number of cigarettes being smuggled at one time and diversifying smuggling channels to minimize losses. Customs officials made 40 large-scale cigarette confiscations, during which it seized 328 million cigarettes.
