Cross-agency Talks on Combating Tobacco Smuggling in Shenzhen

Recently, the Shenzhen Tobacco Monopoly Bureau held a discussion with the visiting Shenzhen Anti-smuggling and Maritime Office to discuss the progress of the city-wide crackdown on "water-based smugglers." Representatives from the Shenzhen Monopoly Bureau and the Futian and Luohu district tobacco monopoly bureaus participated in the discussion.

During the meeting, the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau reported on the overall situation of tobacco counterfeiting and smuggling in the city over the past few years, highlighted new trends and characteristics of illegal activities related to smuggled tobacco, and proposed strategies to address potential smuggled tobacco issues at the fully reopened border checkpoint between Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The relevant manager of the Shenzhen Municipal Maritime Anti-smuggling Bureau stated that there may be a resurgence of smuggling activities by "water passengers" after the reopening of the checkpoint and called for active communication and coordination between the two sides to strengthen the crackdown on illegal smuggling. The Futian and Luohu District Bureaus exchanged information on tobacco smuggling cases in their respective jurisdictions.

Both parties have reached three agreements regarding the comprehensive crackdown on illegal smuggling of "water passengers" in the city: first, to deepen cooperation comprehensively, following the principles of "combining prevention with crackdown, comprehensive governance, highlighting key areas, and inter-departmental cooperation," with a focus on the port area, fully integrating law enforcement resources and enhancing the effectiveness of law enforcement; second, to highlight intelligence investigation, making full use of the relevant information databases of "water passengers," targeting key groups, proactively investigating intelligence clues, and strengthening information exchange and sharing; third, to do well in public education, widely promote the rule of law against smuggling, unblock channels for reporting and complaints, continuously enhance public awareness of opposing smuggling, and create a good atmosphere of joint governance by all people.