ENG-2009 — Page 384

312 Public Order

Revenue Control

The department administers a licensing and permit system to control the manufacture, import, export, storage and movement of dutiable commodities. It ensures that no dutiable commodities, whether imported or locally manufactured, are released for local consumption unless full duty has been paid.

Revenue Protection

The department has stepped up enforcement actions to suppress illicit cigarette activities following the increase of tobacco duty since February 2009. During the year, there were 2 898 cases involving smuggling, storage, distribution and peddling of illicit cigarettes were effected, an increase of 84 per cent compared with 2008. A total of 59 million sticks of illicit cigarettes were seized.

In 2009, 5 524 people were fined under the Compounding Scheme for abuse of duty-free cigarette concessions, an increase of 60 per cent compared with 2008, involving 2.1 million sticks of cigarettes.

The department continued co-operating with overseas customs administrations to stamp out transnational cigarette smuggling. In 2009, by monitoring suspicious. shipments and through intelligence exchange, the department's efforts led to the successful seizure of 104 million sticks of illicit cigarettes by overseas enforcement authorities.

The department took sustained action to stamp out illicit fuel activities. In 2009, it solved 611 illicit fuel cases, arrested 360 people and seized 324 000 litres of illicit fuel. The number of seizures was 14 per cent more than that of 2008.

Anti-narcotics Operations

The department continues to take vigorous enforcement action to prevent and suppress the unlawful manufacture, distribution and trafficking of dangerous drugs; to trace, confiscate and recover drug proceeds from illegal drug activities; and to prevent the diversion of chemicals used for the illicit manufacture of dangerous drugs. It also maintains close co-operation and exchange of intelligence with local, Mainland and overseas law enforcement agencies to combat drug trafficking.

In 2009, the department dealt with 139 drug trafficking cases and neutralized eight drug storage and distribution centres. A total of 652 kilogrammes of assorted dangerous drugs were seized and 491 people arrested. Two significant cases at Hong Kong International Airport in July and at the Man Kam To Control Point in September resulted in a total seizure of 336 kilogrammes of ketamine. Co-operation with other customs administrations resulted in the seizure of 7.3 kilogrammes of precursor chemicals and 19.6 kilogrammes of assorted dangerous drugs in the mainland of China and overseas.

As part of the Government's vigorous efforts to combat the youth drug abuse problem, the department has strengthened enforcement at boundary control points. by stepping up checking of cross-boundary coaches and private vehicles, deploying more detector dogs and plain-clothes officers in operations, exchanging intelligence and mounting parallel operations with their Mainland counterparts. It also