The Customs & Excise Department handled a total of 31,242 cases in 2024, up 63% on the figure for 2023.

Commissioner of Customs & Excise Chan Tsz-tat announced the figures today during a press conference reviewing the department’s work last year.

Among the cases handled by the department, a majority of 68% were in relation to illicit cigarettes. This was followed by cases involving dangerous drugs and cases involving intellectual property rights infringements.

Mr Chan highlighted that the number of cases involving illicit cigarettes in 2024 was up by 80% on 2023, reaching 21,284. The number of cigarettes seized stood at 614 million, 6% fewer than in 2023.

He explained that the increase in the number of cases involving illicit cigarettes stemmed from a huge surge in cases involving inbound individuals exceeding their duty-free allowances.

Mr Chan also outlined that the department handled 1,363 drug cases in 2024, which was about the same as in 2023. About 6.3 tonnes of drugs were seized, a 33% drop year-on-year.

He iterated that etomidate, the main ingredient in the so-called “space oil drug”, has been added to the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, adding that the department’s anti-narcotics efforts will be stepped up.

Meanwhile, a total of 233 smuggling cases, comprising a seizure value of $4.34 billion, were handled last year, representing an increase of 5% in the number of cases and 37% in the seizure value as against the figures for 2023.

As regards intellectual property rights infringements, Customs detected 783 cases last year, an annual increase of 11%, with the value of infringing items seized rising 7% to around $309 million.

Mr Chan also outlined the department’s work on clearance and trade facilitation, stressing that it is collaborating with the Shenzhen Municipal Government on a boundary control point redevelopment project in Huanggang.

He said the department will continue to expand its global network under the Hong Kong Authorized Economic Operator Mutual Recognition Arrangement, adding that it has launched a Cross-boundary Express Cargo Clearance Facilitation Arrangement to cope with the rapid development of the global electronic commerce industry.

As regards human resources, Mr Chan said that Mainland Hong Kong students are among the department’s target groups for recruitment. He mentioned that recruitment seminars on the Mainland held in March last year received more than 290 on-the-spot applications.

In 2023, 82 customs inspectors and 355 customs officers were recruited, and the department will continue recruiting to fill vacancies this year.