Hong Kong customs makes record haul of HK$222 million worth of illegal cigarettes

Hong Kong customs officers have seized HK$222 million (US$28.3 million) worth of black-market cigarettes in a crackdown on a newly established smuggling syndicate, marking their biggest single seizure of the contraband since records began more than two decades ago.

The nearly 78 million cigarettes confiscated were part of a HK$270 million haul of illegal tobacco products made in a week-long operation citywide that ended on Tuesday. Customs arrested 20 men and three women.