Hong Kong thwarts largest illicit gold delivery in its history

Hong Kong's largest gold smuggling operation has backfired. City authorities discovered a stockpile of gold worth 84 million Hong Kong dollars (nearly 10 million euros) hidden in fake machine tool parts shipped to Japan, according to a government statement Hong Kong dated Monday April 8. The announcement indicates that the Hong Kong Customs Department seized on Wednesday March 27 146 kg of gold which had been "cast and camouflaged" in the structures of two compressors which were in the hold of a plane parked at the Hong Kong International Airport.

Photos provided by authorities show that the precious metal was transformed into multiple pieces, including in the shape of screws and rotors, then covered with a layer of paint intended to hide the initial color. However, scratches scattered here and there on the surface of the different pieces betrayed the criminals. Hong Kong customs managed to detect the illicit gold during an examination of the machines on March 27. As part of the investigation, they arrested a 31-year-old suspect on Wednesday. While the investigation is still ongoing, the individual was released after posting bail.

Jason Lau, one of the officials of the customs department, said Monday that this crime was unprecedented since it would be the first time that gold had been discovered in the form of fake machine fragments, according to the English-language daily South China MorningPost. According to the newspaper, the official also claimed that it was the largest seizure of smuggled gold - in terms of value - in the city's history. Again according to our colleagues, Jason Lau added that the alleged aim of the smuggling operation was to evade the Japanese import tax, which amounts to 10% of the total value of the declared merchandise.

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Authorities in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, known as one of the world's largest gold trading hubs, had already arrested a suspect in February who tried to smuggle around twenty bars from the city in order to transport them illegally to Macao, another Chinese special administrative region located in the Pearl River Delta, on the opposite bank to Hong Kong. Under Hong Kong law, anyone found guilty of importing or exporting undeclared goods is liable to a maximum fine of 2 million Hong Kong dollars (around 235,000 euros) as well as a prison sentence. lasting seven years.

The price of the precious metal has experienced significant successive increases since the last quarter of 2023, reaching records in 2024. Thus, while gold was trading at around 1,800 dollars (around 1,655 euros) at the beginning of October 2023, its exchange value jumped to pass the mark of 2,350 dollars (around 2,160 euros) per ounce - a common unit of mass in the gold trade and representing around 31 grams - at the start of April.