Chinese customs have seized 306 Intel CPUs from an individual trying to smuggle them into the country.
On June 29, Qingmao Customs, a subsidiary of Gongbei Customs, stopped a person trying to secretly transport 306 CPUs into mainland China through a non-declaration channel. The CPUs were wrapped inside what resembles paper packs, each containing 12 chips, from the looks of it. These then were wrapped around this individual’s back and legs using tape.
The smuggler was spotted by a customs officer due to an abnormal walking posture. After inspection, the 306 CPUs were discovered. However, unlike last time, we’re unsure of the CPUs models, as the customs didn’t publish closeup pictures. But if we refer to their square shape plus the spacing on the bottom portion of their IHS, we’ll guess these are Intel’s 9th Gen Core processors.
An Intel Core i3-9100F in our labs weighs 29g on its own. If we assume our smuggler had similar CPUs, that’s 8.9kg worth of processors, excluding any packaging – no wonder he exhibited the so-called abnormal posture!
This is neither the first nor the last time we see people trying to discreetly import goods into China to avoid paying import taxes. Previously we heard about someone caught with 202 plus some iPhones, and another with 70 graphics cards plus a bunch of lobsters. Hong Kong’s zero per cent VAT contrasting with China’s 13 per cent, is apparently enough for some to risk prison by illegally smuggling products.
Since evading customs supervision by hiding goods in order to avoid taxation is a crime, these persons will surely face serious consequences.
