HONG KONG - Hong Kong Customs announced on Tuesday that it has recently seized about 64 kg of suspected gold bars with an estimated market value of about HK$46 million (about $5.92 million), the largest gold bullion smuggling case detected by Hong Kong Customs on record in terms of the seizure volume and market value.

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Based on risk assessment, Hong Kong Customs on March 5 examined an outbound air cargo consignment, declared as carrying toys, lamps and hats, departing for Japan at the Customs Cargo Examination Compound at Hong Kong International Airport.

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Upon inspection, customs officers found the batch of suspected smuggled gold bullion in four cardboard boxes therein.

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An investigation is ongoing, and the likelihood of arrests is not ruled out, according to Hong Kong Customs, which vows to continue to take stringent enforcement actions against all kinds of smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.