By now, you’ve probably understood that smuggling electronic goods into China from Hong Kong is something of a common occurrence. Recently, Chinese customs foiled another smuggler’s attempt to transport PC hardware across the Hong-Macao border. What makes this case interesting though, is the timing of it all: the smuggler tried to pull it off under the cover of Typhoon Saola.
It was a very daring attempt as well; when Chinese customs caught the smuggler, his cargo contained 1,500 CPUs, 1,470 memory modules, 30 graphics cards, and more than 40,000 NAND storage units. It goes without saying that some of these components included the top-of-the-line of each listed category. It also turns out to be one of the border guard’s most expensive smuggling busts to date.
Typhoon #Saola is about to pass within 50 km of Hong Kong as a category 4 hurricane with winds reaching 220 kilometers per hour (140 miles per hour). This is Hong Kong's waterfront earlier todaypic.twitter.com/vtpzaeDW9n
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) September 1, 2023
Chinese customs did not release the total value of the seized goods but based on what HKEPC says, the authorities will simply sell off the goods via a public auction, rather than destroy said components. It’s a smart thing to do, especially since destroying the goods wouldn’t benefit anyone, and the components can still be useful to the general consumers, more so if individuals who purchase them are actually in the DIY PC scene. Once sold, the proceeds will then go into the state treasury.
Prior to this bust, Chinese customs had also seized 1,747 components in July from a smuggler than tried to sneak 836 CPUs, 900 memory modules, and 10 SSDs from Hong Kong into China.
(Source: Tom’s Hardware, Techspot)
