ENG-2005 — Page 391

Public Order | 337

The Red and Green Channel System for passenger clearance at all air, land and sea entry points opened on November 1. The department's new system facilitates passenger clearance, enhances revenue protection of dutiable goods and aligns Hong Kong with international customs practice. Under this mode of customs clearance, incoming passengers are required to make their customs declaration by choosing to pass through either the Red Channel or Green Channel. Passengers use the Green Channel unless they have any dutiable goods or prohibited/controlled items in which case they go through the Red Channel.

The completion of boundary control point improvements during the year helped accelerate the flow of passengers and vehicles. The new cross-boundary bridges at Lok Ma Chau, Sha Tau Kok and Man Kam To control points opened in early 2005, improving cross-boundary vehicle flow at the three control points. The improvement works for Lo Wu Footbridge were also completed in January and have improved passenger flow.

There were also improvements for ferry passengers during the year. In February, China Ferry Terminal extended its opening hours during weekends and public holidays 7am to 2am instead of 7am to 10pm.

Anti-smuggling Operations

Smuggling between Hong Kong and the Mainland remained a

concern. Price differences between the two places and import controls on certain items in the Mainland were the main factors underlying the problem. In 2005, the department detected 289 Hong Kong/Mainland smuggling offences, arrested 339 people and seized contraband worth $271.8 million.

Goods commonly smuggled to the Mainland included computer parts, electrical and electronic appliances, vehicles and vehicle parts, mobile phones and accessories, and silver slabs. Increasing demand caused an upsurge in the smuggling of Chinese. tonics such as American ginseng and precious metals (for example, silver and nickel) to the Mainland. However, the smuggling of marked oil to the Mainland subsided during the year following the administrative control measures taken by the department to ensure that the fuel was supplied for genuine marine use.

The items most commonly smuggled into Hong Kong from the Mainland during the year were cigarettes, motor spirit, meat and poultry. Smugglers usually made false declarations on manifests and made use of concealed compartments or contraband mix-loaded with cargoes to avoid customs inspection. The Streptococcus suis and avian flu cases on the Mainland reduced local demand for illicit meat and poultry thus causing a drop in such smuggling.

Customs officers at the boundary control points, seaport and airport are equipped with 3-in-1 handheld detectors which have strengthened their capacity for detecting smuggled narcotics/explosive/chemical warfare agents. The department continued to liaise closely with the Hong Kong Police, and other local and overseas law enforcement agencies, in a concerted effort to combat smuggling. Enhanced cooperation with the Mainland authorities including exchanging information and