SHOES WITH 1,000 DIAMONDS WORTH 540M USD

A young man has been caught trying to smuggle more than 1,000 diamonds into Shenzhen City from neighboring Hong Kong by hiding them in his shoes. Customs officials in Shenzhen, south China's Guangdong province, found 212.9 carats of diamonds in the alleged smuggler's insoles when he passed through Luohu port, which links Hong Kong with inland cities, on March 13.


The incident happened on Monday last week at the Luohu crossing, which links to the city’s Lo Wu immigration control point.

A Hong Kong government source said diamonds were smuggled into Shenzhen to avoid import restrictions and mainland taxes that amounted to 20 to 30 per cent of their value.


“We believe the diamonds were being taken to the mainland’s processing factories to make jewellery before being smuggled back to Hong Kong,” the source said.
He said the Year of the Rooster was traditionally deemed a good time to get married so there was high demand for jewellery.
He added that carrying diamonds in or out of Hong Kong via the city’s control points was not a breach of Hong Kong laws.