On March 23, Guangdong border guards came across a suspected case of smuggling in the special administrative area of Zhongying Jie, Shatoujiao Township, where Shenzhen's Yantian District meets Hong Kong territory.
Around 3.50pm at the gateway to the area, officer Wu encountered a woman on a bike who wanted to enter Zhongying Jie. He noticed that the backseat of the bike had been refitted.
When asked about it, the woman said that she had recently bought the secondhand bike, and refitting the backseat was nothing special. She also complained that Wu was being overzealous and holding up traffic at the border.
When Wu insisted on bringing the bike in for inspection, however, the woman became flustered.
An X-ray showed objects concealed inside the bike's seat. When guards opened it, they found 17 watches, which appeared to be from a 'foreign luxury brand,' inside.
The suspected smuggler and her bike at the border guard station
The compartment inside the backseat of the bike
The watches, of course, had not been declared.
The Guangdong border guards announced their discovery on March 27. The case has since been handed over to the customs anti-smuggling department.
Border guards say that smuggling attempts are fairly common in Yantian, with many traffickers bringing goods over in small quantities to avoid detection.
The label on a couple of the 'foreign luxury brand' watches reads 'Rodas,' which resembles the name of Swiss brand Rado. Rado's official website suggests a retail price of USD900 for a similar-looking watch model.
[Images via SZnews.com]
0 User Comments