Customs officials in Hong Kong seized 146 kilograms of gold late last month, worth an estimated $10 million. They discovered the gold on a cargo plane scheduled to leave for Japan, and officials now say the value of the seizure makes it the biggest gold smuggling case in Hong Kong’s history. What makes this case especially interesting, though, is that Business Insider reports the gold was disguised as machine parts.
On March 27, customs officials x-rayed two air compressors and discovered that they contained gold that had been “concealed in the integral parts” of the compressors. Those gold parts had also been painted silver to match the other components in an attempt to throw customs off the trail.
Acting Senior Superintendent Jason Lau Yuk-lung told the South China Morning Post that this was the first time customs officials had ever discovered gold disguised in this way. Authorities reportedly believe the smuggler went to the lengths he did in an effort to avoid Japan’s 10-percent import tariff. “Smugglers could have evaded about HK$8.4 million ($1 million) in taxes if the precious metal was successfully smuggled into the country,” Lau told the SCMP.
In a statement, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said it had arrested a 31-year-old man they believe was behind the cleverly concealed gold they seized. He has since been released on bail while authorities continue their investigation. They did not release his name, but according to Lau, he was the director of a company in Hong Kong that may actually be a shell company. If convicted, the man faces a maximum prison sentence of seven years and a fine of up to HK$2 million or about $255,000 in U.S. dollars.
Obviously, smuggling is wrong, but dang, you do have to respect the outside-the-box thinking here. That’s some serious commitment to avoiding import tariffs.
A version of this article originally appeared on Jalopnik.