PUBLIC ORDER
328
Goods commonly smuggled to the Mainland included vehicles, vehicle spare parts, electrical appliances, computer parts, marked oil, optical discs and vegetable oil. Cross-boundary vehicles, river trading vessels and fishing boats were the means of conveyance frequently employed by smugglers. Smuggling of vehicles and marked oil to the Mainland continued to be the main concerns: 22 left-hand drive vehicles, one right-hand drive vehicle and four dismantled vehicles were seized. The seizure of marked oil dropped to 2.9 million litres. There was a downward trend in the smuggling of electrical appliances. The total value of such goods seized decreased from $25.55 million in 1999 to $15.13 million in 2000.
Inbound smuggling involved mainly cigarettes and frozen meat. Hong Kong continued to be exploited as a transit point for smuggling counterfeit cigarettes but the situation was alleviated compared with 1999. Altogether, officers seized 17 million counterfeit cigarettes originating in the Mainland and being sent to a number of countries via Hong Kong. The total quantity of frozen meat seized was 301 064 - kilograms, compared with 556 183 kilograms in 1999.
The Customs maintained close liaison with the Police Force and overseas law enforcement agencies in exchanging intelligence and this contributed considerably to the successful interdiction of smuggling. Enhanced co-operation with the Mainland authorities in exchanging information, operational assistance and mounting of parallel operations at the boundary crossing points continued to produce good results.
Training
All recruits to the Customs and Excise Department go through basic training at the department's training school, at Tai Lam. During the year, 15 Inspectors and 35 Customs Officers passed out of the school. Apart from induction training, the department provides local and overseas vocational training necessary for its staff to discharge their duties in investigation and prosecution. It also organised training courses for other customs administrations as part of its international co-operation efforts. In 2000, a total of 30 officers from the Customs Administrations of the Mainland received training in Hong Kong and officers of the department conducted a training course in Macau for 20 officers of the Macau Customs Administration.
Information Technology
The final phase of the Air Cargo Clearance System (ACCS) was successfully implemented in February, setting up further interface functions with air cargo. operators. The success of the ACCS marked the commitment of the department towards facilitation of the air cargo industry. About half of the incoming flights are capable of submitting cargo information to the ACCS prior to flight arrival and enjoy the benefit of pre-arrival cargo clearance electronically. To meet the growth of transhipment cargo arising from the air cargo hub operation in Hong Kong, the department commissioned a feasibility study for a system upgrade in late 2000. To facilitate the transhipment of cargo, the department also plans to provide cargo clearance services to the new Hong Kong Airport Marine Cargo Terminal Operator through the system.
In 2000, the department put much effort into building up its internal information technology infrastructure. As a result, almost all offices of the department are linked by over 280 terminals providing access to the Internet, e-mail and office automation