Smuggling (Supply Chain) Tunnel Discovered Between Hong Kong and Shenzhen

Chinese authorities in Hong Kong this week discovered a narrow concrete tunnel built by smugglers intending to shuttle consumer goods from Hong Kong across the border to the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal:

The tunnel, equipped with lights, vents and a rail track with pulleys to ferry contraband, was found by Shenzhen police before it was put to use. The passage was about 130 feet long and ran from a secluded thicket of reeds near the Hong Kong border to a garage in Shenzhen, according to reports by state media.

Authorities suspect that the tunnel, which was about 2.5 feet wide and a bit more than 3 feet in height, was to be used to smuggle smartphones, tablets and other electronics from Hong Kong into mainland China.

Hong Kong’s police force said it was notified by its Shenzhen counterparts of the tunnel’s existence on Tuesday. “We will step up patrol of the border area,” a Hong Kong police spokeswoman said Thursday. Shenzhen’s police department couldn’t be reached to comment.

Smuggling between the two cities has increased significantly in recent years. Although Hong Kong is under Chinese rule, the city is a special administrative region that is a free port with its own separate trade laws and tariffs that differ from those of the rest of mainland China. Hong Kong is a popular shopping destination for mainland Chinese tourists as many luxury goods and brand-name electronics are cheaper in the former British colony. Travelers entering Hong Kong from China must go through immigration and customs clearance.

Hong Kong returned to Chinese administration in 1997, but the city remains separated from the rest of mainland China, with miles of heavily guarded fences to prevent smuggling of illegal immigrants and goods.

Shenzhen, a city of about nine million people directly across the border from Hong Kong, which has a population of about seven million, is a frequent gateway for trade, including smuggled goods.

Many products, ranging from domestic necessities such as baby formula to high-end electronics such as Apple iPhones, are frequently trafficked between the two cities, according to government authorities on both sides of the border.

Hong Kong has been combating smuggling with various regulations, such as limiting the amount of luggage allowed on trains bound for Shenzhen. Hong Kong also capped the amount of baby formula permitted to leave the city. Foreign-made baby formula sold in Hong Kong is sought after by mainland Chinese after the 2008 melamine scandal that killed six children and hurt confidence in locally manufactured formula.

Illegal tunnels such as the one discovered this week aren’t uncommon, as people are attracted to the significant monetary returns of smuggling goods.

In 2003, Chinese authorities found a tunnel dug beneath an apartment building at the border that extended some 80 feet into Hong Kong’s territory.

Smugglers have also engaged in other schemes. In 2011, mainland Chinese customs officials busted a smuggling ring in which people stuffed Apple products in tote bags and transferred the bags across the border with a pulley.

Guangdong border police discovered an underground smuggling tunnel near the border of Hong Kong, China state broadcaster CCTV reported on Tuesday (December 24)

The police found the tunnel on Dec. 19 when patrolling under the river embankment of the border river between Guangdong province and Hong Kong, CCTV said. Shenzen is Guangdong economic hub and shares a border with Hong Kong.

The entrance of the tunnel was covered by beer boxes and earth, and its exit was covered by three-meter-high reeds on the river embankment.

The tunnel was about 40 meters long, 80 centimeters high and one meter wide. It only allows one man to pass through at a time

The tunnel leads to a private garage nearby and was still under construction, CCTV also said.

The police found tools including drills and steel pipes in the tunnel.

Li Anzhu from Guangdong Border Police said the presence of pulley wheels showed the tunnel would be used for smuggling.

“They may put the the smuggled goods into the hole of the tunnel and transport them to the opposite warehouse by pulley wheels. And then the smuggled goods will be transferred by minibus,” Anzhu said.

The case is now still under investigation.