Update:
http://www.russiajournal.com/2006/04/05/russian-mig-fighter-seized-at-hong-kong-customs/print/
Russian MiG fighter seized at Hong Kong customs
Posted By editor trj On 5th April 2006 @ 15:00 In Home, International, Defence | Comments Disabled
SIANGANG, Hong Kong) - Customs officers in Hong Kong have seized an undeclared Russian MiG-29 fighter on board a ship bound for the United States, a leading English-language newspaper said Wednesday.
The South China Morning Post wrote that the aircraft had been found among containers and goods during a routine customs check. The jet fighter was without engines and ammunition and the wing paint in some places had been peeled off, according to a customs official.
Preliminary investigation showed that the plane had been put on the vessel in Ukraine and arrived in Hong Kong for further delivery to the U.S. The ship owners had failed to file the aircraft in a special import license.
This is not the first time Soviet- and Russian-made military aircraft have been confiscated in Hong Kong, China’s special administrative region, which enjoys a relatively large degree of autonomy.
In 2000, for example, five Russian fighters sent to China Aviation Industry Supply and Marketing Corporation were confiscated over incorrect paperwork.
The newspaper wrote, referring to its source in the customs body, that the MiG-29 might be put on public display when all the formalities had been settled.
Source: RIAN
Article printed from The Russia Journal: http://www.russiajournal.com
URL to article: http://www.russiajournal.com/2006/04/05/russian-mig-fighter-seized-at-hong-kong-customs/
Also found in Hong Kong.:
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-04/13/content_4420995.htm
HONG KONG, April 13 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong Customs officers have arrested five men and seized 882,680 smuggled cigarettes worth about 1.32 million HK dollars and counterfeit goods worth about 1.6 million HK dollars from two storage and packaging centers in Kwai Chung and Lai Chi Kok, the Customs said Thursday.
The syndicate sells smuggled cigarettes and counterfeit goods through the Internet to buyers in the U.K.. When an order is received, the goods are first sent to Hong Kong from the Mainland, and forwarded to the U.K. by air cargo or parcel, the Customs said.
Of the men, aged 28 to 52, one is believed to be the syndicate mastermind and another is a major ring member. Investigations are underway. Enditem
http://www.thestandard.com.hk/news_detail.asp?pp_cat=11&art_id=15849&sid=7372964&con_type=1
Designed in the early 1970s, the Mig-29 continues to be used by the Ukrainian Air Force and in other countries. The aircraft can reach a maximum speed of 2,450 kilometers per hour, destroy air targets at distances up to 200km and carry up to 3,500 kilograms of weapons.
This is not the first time military shipments have appeared illegally in Hong Kong. In May 2004, customs officials seized about 2,900 sub- machine guns and 25,000 unloaded magazines in transit from Malaysia to California. In March 2000, customs officials seized five armored vehicles en route to Tianjin from Italy.