Smuggler nabbed with 9,000 memory cards strapped to legs

We guess that it was his gait that gave him away.

Imagine trying to walk properly with 9,000 memory cards strapped to your legs and body.

Hong Kong's South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported last week that a man was caught trying to smuggle thousands of memory cards into mainland China.

He had over 9,000 cards strapped to his body when he tried to enter Shenzhen from Hong Kong on Feb 26.

The cards are reportedly worth nearly 100,000 yuan (S$21,000). A Custom officer said that the man offered them a 50,000-yuan bribe when he was caught, SCMP reported.

It also reported that Custom officers at Shenzhen had caught another smuggler - this time an elderly woman - just hours earlier.

She was found with more than 10,000 cards taped to her waist and legs.

SCMP said that foreign-brand electronics are usually cheaper in Hong Kong than in mainland China, since there is no sales tax in Hong Kong.

This is, of course, not the first time that people have been caught trying to smuggle electronics into China. Last year, smugglers were trying to smuggle iPhones across the borders (see here, here, and here).

sinsh@sph.com.sg