75% of solved Customs cases in 2025 involved illicit cigarettes

Hong Kong Customs cracked over 38,000 cases last year, an increase of about 20% year-on-year.

Customs said that among the cases solved last year, 75% involved illicit cigarettes. More than 28,000 people were arrested, up by over 30% from the previous year.

Customs believes this was due to strengthened checks on excess duty-free cigarettes at passenger channels. They also said criminal syndicates hired travelers, and in some instances parents used cross‑border schoolchildren to smuggle goods in a “ant-moving” (small-quantity, repeated trips) manner.

In addition, Customs uncovered 39 illegal fuel stations last year, seizing about 90,000 liters of gasoline.

On drugs, Customs detected 961 cases last year and seized 7.5 tonnes of narcotics. Although the number of cases fell year-on-year, the quantity seized increased by about 20% over the previous year, mainly involving cannabis, methamphetamine (“ice”), and ketamine (commonly known as “K”), and including 43 cases involving etomidate.