Local woman convicted and jailed 63 months for illegal export and possession of pharmaceutical products and money laundering
A local woman was sentenced to 63 months' imprisonment by the District Court yesterday (September 23) for illegal export and possession of controlled pharmaceutical products and dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence (commonly known as money laundering), in contravention of the Import and Export Ordinance (IEO), the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO), the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance (PPO), and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (OSCO).
Between September and October 2021, Hong Kong Customs seized approximately 1.6 million tablets of controlled pharmaceutical products, some of which were found to be counterfeit, with an estimated market value of about $55 million, at Hong Kong International Airport, an industrial unit in Hung Hom, and a logistics service centre in Sheung Wan. Subsequent investigation revealed that the woman had recruited individuals to pack and post the pharmaceutical products, and had rented an industrial unit to facilitate the operation of the offences.
The woman received bank transfers and cash deposits from unidentifiable sources through her personal bank accounts, laundering a total of $15 million in crime proceeds. Furthermore, her personal accounts were utilised to support the syndicate's operations, including payments for the individuals for packing and delivery of the pharmaceutical products and payments of the postage fees for the parcels.
Customs welcomes the sentence. The custodial sentence has imposed a considerable deterrent effect and reflects the seriousness of illegal exports of controlled pharmaceutical products and counterfeit goods, as well as money laundering offences.
Additionally, the prosecution applied to the court under the OSCO for a Confiscation Order against the woman's frozen assets totalling approximately $470,000.
Under the IEO, any person who exports pharmaceutical products and medicines without a valid export licence commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for two years.
Under the PPO, any person who possesses any poison included in Part 1 of the Poisons List other than in accordance with provisions commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $100,000 and imprisonment for two years.
Under the TDO, any person who imports, exports, sells, or possesses for sale counterfeit goods commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Under the OSCO, a person commits an offence if he or she deals with any property knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that such property, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly represents any person's proceeds of an indictable offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $5 million and imprisonment for 14 years while the crime proceeds are also subject to confiscation.
Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the above-mentioned ordinances to Customs' 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/en/).
A local woman was sentenced to 63 months' imprisonment by the District Court yesterday (September 23) for illegal export and possession of controlled pharmaceutical products and dealing with property known or believed to represent proceeds of an indictable offence (commonly known as money laundering), in contravention of the Import and Export Ordinance, the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance, and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance. Photo shows the controlled pharmaceutical products seized. Source: HKSAR Government Press Releases
