Hong Kong customs seizes 600 million illicit cigarettes in first 9 months of 2026

Hong Kong customs officials seized 600 million illicit cigarette sticks during the first nine months of 2026, reaching nearly the annual total from 2025, according to Commissioner of Customs and Excise Chan Tsz-tat. Of the seized cigarettes, 200 million were intended for other destinations but were intercepted in Hong Kong after receiving intelligence.

Chan disclosed that 200 million sticks were bound for other locations but were intercepted in Hong Kong following intelligence. Among the 18,000 illicit cigarette cases detected from January to September, 16,000 involved passengers carrying more than 19 cigarettes without declaration. The revamped Huanggang Port, which began operations last week, saw no serious drug cases among the intercepted items.

Customs operations at the port, including vehicle clearance, were reported to be smooth, with no bottleneck identified. The department plans to address staffing shortages by reassigning staff from other checkpoints, canceling leave, and hiring retired personnel. Chan mentioned that the department intends to employ advanced detection equipment, such as the active millimetre wave detector, to mitigate the need for manual body searches.

With the new joint clearance system, processing time at Huanggang Port could be reduced from approximately 30 minutes to five minutes. Hong Kong residents with a valid mainland travel permit can use Hong Kong ID cards interchangeably for outbound and inbound journeys through the joint clearance channel. The port is projected to accommodate up to 300,000 travelers daily upon full operations, with an initial capacity of 100,000 people expected. It can handle 15,000 vehicles per day.