A Chinese smuggling ringleader attempting to secretly bring a large quantity of counterfeit Korean cigarettes into South Korea has been arrested.
On the 30th, the Korea Customs Service Incheon Customs announced that it recently sent a Chinese national, Mr. A, to the Incheon District Prosecutors' Office under arrest on charges of violating the Customs Act, Trademark Act, and the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes.
The Chinese smuggling ringleader Mr. A was caught trying to smuggle counterfeit domestic cigarettes and anesthetic cream from China into South Korea for distribution in the market. Incheon Customs has sent Mr. A to prosecution on charges of violating the Customs Act and other laws. Photo by Korea Customs Service
Mr. A is accused of smuggling over 100,000 packs of counterfeit Korean cigarettes such as Esse Light, more than 18,000 counterfeit trademarked products, and about 3,500 anesthetic creams from China, together with three accomplices involved in domestic distribution (who were sent without detention).
The total market value of the smuggled goods is estimated to be approximately 33.7 billion KRW.
Among these, the smuggled cigarettes are valued at about 600 million KRW. According to Incheon Customs, Mr. A intended to distribute the smuggled cigarettes domestically to gain profits of approximately 350 million KRW by evading taxes and various charges.
Incheon Customs confirmed the crimes of Mr. A and his accomplices through CCTV footage from bonded warehouses, analysis of phone records, and searches of residences and mobile phones.
Investigations revealed that Mr. A led the crimes by directly shipping and delivering smuggled goods using a trading company nominally represented by accomplice Mr. B.
Notably, Mr. A showed meticulousness by misleading the investigation, shifting responsibility to a non-existent local Chinese individual when the crime was detected by customs, and discarding his mobile phone to destroy evidence.
Incheon Customs plans to provide production information obtained during the investigation to Chinese customs authorities through customs officers in China, aiming to arrest not only the smuggling ringleader and distributors but also the local producers.
Kim Jong-ho, head of Incheon Customs, stated, “Counterfeit cigarette smuggling has been occurring continuously recently. This is an issue that undermines fair distribution order by evading various taxes and can adversely affect public health. Incheon Customs will strengthen crackdowns and respond strictly to smuggling of counterfeit cigarettes and related goods.”
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