Latest news with #HongKongCustomsandExciseDepartment
Reuters
08-04-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Hong Kong customs seize antimony amid China's export controls
HONG KONG, April 8 (Reuters) - Hong Kong customs seized suspected antimony ingots, customs said in a statement dated April 2, a move that comes after China, the world's biggest producer of the metal, imposed export controls on shipments in September. The 25,171.85 kg of antimony was found on March 13 inside a 40-foot outbound container at the city's cargo compound in the north of Hong Kong, near the mainland border, the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said, without giving a specific reason for the seizure. China exported about 3.9 million kg of wrought and unwrought antimony last year, however shipments of these products have all but stopped since the controls were imposed in September. The only export which shows up in Chinese customs data is a 20,000-kg shipment to Japan in January. Hong Kong Customs did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Reuters. Antimony is a shiny grey metalloid known since ancient times when it was used in medicine and cosmetics. It has become increasingly strategic because of its use in military equipment, such as infrared missiles, nuclear weapons and night vision goggles, and as a hardening agent for bullets and tanks. The biggest application today is as a flame retardant, which accounted for around half of global usage in 2023, according to brokerage CICC. China's export controls have fuelled a surge in global prices for the strategic metal. Producing almost half of global supply in 2023, China's restrictions have upended supply chains for antimony, which is also used in semiconductors, solar power equipment and munitions. China accounted for 48% of antimony mine production in 2023, followed by Tajikistan at 25%, according to data from the U.S. Geological Survey.
South China Morning Post
16-02-2025
- South China Morning Post
Woman arrested over bringing ‘space oil' into Hong Kong after drug relisting
Hong Kong customs officers have arrested a woman for allegedly possessing 'space oil' when she arrived in the city, the first such case since some of the emerging narcotic's main ingredients were officially classified as dangerous drugs by authorities. The Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department said on Sunday that it had arrested a 28-year-old woman travelling to Hong Kong from Macau the day before. Officers discovered a vape pen suspected to contain space oil when she underwent customs clearance at the Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan. The woman was subsequently arrested. Customs said that the woman had claimed to be unemployed, and was released on bail pending further investigation. 'Customs will continue to step up the enforcement and combat the trafficking of the 'space oil drug',' the department said. On Friday, authorities listed several key components used to make the space oil, including its main ingredient etomidate, in the first schedule of the Dangerous Drug Ordinance – putting them in the same category as cocaine. Etomidate was previously classified as a Part 1 Poison.
