Multiple Intel Core i7-10700 and i9-10900K units among thousands of processors seized by Hong Kong Customs from CPU smugglers

It appears the Intel Core i7-10700 and Intel Core i9-10900K are much-wanted chips as multiple units were found in batches seized by the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department recently. Three different incidents, as reported by PC Gamer, have lately come to light with all of them involving attempts at smuggling CPUs across Chinese border control points. The first two incidents took place at a checkpoint between Guangdong in China and Macau with the third occurring at the Hong Kong border.

On June 16, customs officers managed to take control of 256 processors at a Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge inspection point. It seems agents became suspicious due to the nervous behavior of a truck driver and his co-driver, which led to a thorough examination revealing dozens of CPUs taped to the smugglers' bodies. The estimated value of the illicit goods was HK$800,000 (US$103,000). A few days later (June 26) on the same bridge, a further 52 brand-new chips were discovered being smuggled in a van, jammed in-between the driver and co-driver’s seats.

In the third incident (July 5), reported by the Hong Kong Customs agency itself, a truck heading to China was stopped at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point between the island of Hong Kong and the mainland. This time, officers uncovered more than 2,200 processors, over 1,000 RAM parts, 630 smartphones, and even 70 cosmetic items. The whole stash was valued at over HK$4 million (US$515,000). Convicted smugglers face up to a HK$2 million fine (US$257,000) and up to seven years of prison time.

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