Business and Economy 

1.6 million packs of contraband cigarettes seized from cargo ship intercepted near Dongsha Island

Tong Hang Number 6 intercepted by Coast Guard
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Coast Guard and customs officials have seized 1.6 million packs of contraband cigarettes from a Togo-flagged cargo vessel that was intercepted near Dongsha Island March 6.

Coast Guard officers intercepted the ship after receiving intelligence that the 2,000 ton aggregates carrier TONG HANG No. 6 bound for Taiwan from Cambodia was carrying cigarettes manufactured in China.

contraband cigarettes aboard aggregates carrier Tong Hang No.6

After intercepting the vessel on March 6, the Coast Guard escorted the ship to the Port of Kaohsiung. After arriving on March 9, customs officials took two days to process the cargo of 1,637,200 packs of cigarettes worth an estimated NT$110 million. The packs included 10 Chinese brands of tobacco products.

The ship was captained by a 47-year-old Myanmar national, and the crew of 12 consisted of two Chinese, and 10 Myanmar nationals, according to Apple Daily.

captain of ship carrying contraband cigarettes
The captain of the ship, a Myanmar national.
Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.

Comment and discuss this story: While all opinions are welcome, comments will not be approved if they contain inflammatory speech.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.