More than $10 million worth of gold was discovered being smuggled out of Hong Kong International Airport disguised as parts for two air compressors, customs officers said.
Officers were tipped off that something was wrong when the air compressors appeared suspicious after going through an X-ray machine, according to the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED).
The seizure was touted as one of the largest in the agency’s 115-year history.
C&ED Assistant Superintendent Ho Tin-hong said that when the officers went to inspect it, they found the machines were nonsensical, with the rotor tied in place with tape.
“We took out the rotor and found traces of glue on both ends,” Tin-hong told the South China Morning Post.
“We tapped the rotor lightly with a hammer and noticed unevenness, suggesting the metal was somewhat fragile,” he added. “Scraping off the paint revealed a gold-colored surface.”
As the officers tore apart the machines, they found several major components — including the motor rotor, gears and screw shafts, were all made of gold.
All in all, the customs officers stripped more than 321 pounds of gold from the two machines, which they alleged were “molded and camouflaged” to try and get through customs.
The machines were part of a shipment bound for Japan on March 27, with C&ED officials speculating that the smuggling ploy was meant to avoid a 10% import tariff that would have cost the suspect more than $1 million.
During a follow up investigation, C&ED officers arrested a 31-year-old man last Wednesday in connection to the case.
C&ED Acting Senior Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung told SCMP that the suspect was the director of a company that “had no actual business” and was likely a shell company.
Anyone found guilty of attempting to export manifested cargo in Hong Kong faces up to seven years in jail and a fine of more than $255,000, according to the customs agency.