Customs officers spotted a speedboat approaching the Tung Chung Development Ferry Pier with its navigation lights off before dawn. A light goods vehicle then arrived at the pier and a male driver together with five men in the speedboat moved the goods from the vehicle onto the speedboat.

Those six men swiftly jumped onto the speedboat and fled to mainland waters when officers took action. About 272kg in 16 cartons of suspected smuggled high-value food, including fresh abalone and chilled fish, were seized.

Customs stressed that it will keep up its enforcement action and will continue to combat sea smuggling activities through proactive risk management and intelligence-based enforcement strategies.