Story By: John Feng, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Asia Wire Report

This is the moment eagle-eyed customs officers stop two tourists attempting to smuggle some 120 iPhones past them by strapping the Apple devices to their torso and limbs.

The suspects were stopped just four hours apart as they past Hengqin Port in the coastal city of Zhuhai in South China’s Guangdong Province on 22nd October.

The tourists, both Hong Kong residents, were attempting to enter mainland China from Macau, one at just after 6pm, and the other before 10pm local time.

The devices are taxed at a lower rate in places such as Macau and Hong Kong, and therefore smugglers can hope to make a healthy profit if they can sneak them into mainland China, where they are taxed higher.

Footage from Hengqin Port, which is managed by the Gongbei customs office, shows officers singling out each of the two men as they walk through the checkpoint with crowds of other visitors.

The authorities said both suspects wore “dark and loose-fitting clothing”, and appeared to be concealing items around their waist and legs.

Their suspicions were proven right when a subsequent body search revealed each would-be smuggler was carrying 60 second-hand iPhones on his person.

The Apple devices comprising various models were all second-hand and wrapped in cling film.

While the smugglers’ methods were nearly identical, Gongbei Customs said the cases were still under review.

It was therefore unclear at the time of writing whether they were accomplices, or if they had been sent by the same handlers into the country, where even older iPhones retain a high resale value.

The customs office said that just six days earlier, on 17th October, a female tourist from Hong Kong was also stopped with 62 iPhones strapped to her body.

The authorities have stopped five such smuggling attempts since August, confiscating nearly 300 iPhones.

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