Busan Main Customs, Largest Ever Tobacco Smuggling Bust

Smuggling of 700,000 Packs of Domestic Export Cigarettes Disguised as Nonwoven Fabric

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Yoseop] The largest-ever tobacco smuggling ring has been uncovered.

Busan Main Customs Office announced that it identified seven individuals, including the mastermind Mr. A (73), who disguised domestically produced cigarettes exported to Hong Kong as transshipment cargo passing through Busan Port en route to Russia, and arrested three of them on charges of violating the Act on Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes (Customs). The financial manager Mr. B, who fled, is currently being tracked.

The smuggled cigarettes filled one 40-foot container with 700,000 packs (market value of 3.1 billion KRW).

Customs tracked the movement of the smuggled cigarettes and seized 450,000 packs, excluding 250,000 packs that had already been distributed in the market. This is the largest seizure quantity in a single tobacco smuggling case to date.

Busan Main Customs Office obtained information that Mr. A and others were smuggling exported domestic cigarettes, analyzed CCTV footage around the suspected crime area, conducted surveillance and warehouse searches. Subsequently, they arrested related individuals and used forensic analysis on seized mobile phones, employing all investigative techniques to uncover the full extent of the crime.

Mr. A and others smuggled export cigarettes, which are cheaper than regular market cigarettes, to gain high price differences. They officially exported cigarettes from Korea to Hong Kong, purchased large quantities locally in Hong Kong, loaded them into containers, sent them to Malaysia, disguised the product names with non-woven fabric in Malaysia, then brought them into Busan New Port as transshipment cargo supposedly heading to Russia via Korea.

Under the pretext of loading the container onto a ship bound for Russia, the container was loaded onto a trailer and transported from Busan New Port to North Port. During transport, they deviated from the normal route, immediately removed the domestic cigarettes at a secret warehouse in Gangseo-gu, Busan, and loaded pre-prepared non-woven fabric into the container instead.

To avoid customs monitoring of export-import payments, they visited Hong Kong in person to purchase cigarettes with cash and frequently changed secret warehouses storing the smuggled cigarettes to prepare for customs inspections.

Cigarettes seized by customs. (Photo by Busan Main Customs)

A Busan Main Customs Office official said, "If this smuggling had succeeded, they would have gained an illegal profit of 560 million KRW, and the national treasury would have lost 2.3 billion KRW."

Busan Main Customs Office has strengthened inspections of high-risk cargo at the domestic entry stage to thoroughly block illegal and unfair trade activities such as smuggling of exported domestic cigarettes. They also plan to continue collecting and analyzing smuggling information and conducting planned crackdowns by conducting surprise inspections in high-risk distribution areas of smuggled cigarettes in cooperation with cigarette manufacturers and tracking import routes.