780 Intel CPUs Seized In $137,000 Smuggling Operation Bust

Intel CPUs
Intel CPUs (Image credit: China Customs)

While some buy the best CPUs, others try to smuggle them. Chinese customs authorities seized 780 Intel processors that traffickers were trying to slip through the Gongbei Port connecting Macau and Zhuhai in China.

Chinese smugglers are always finding ways to finesse the customs authorities. Recent smuggling busts have shown that walking with hundreds of processors or M.2 SSDs strapped to your body may not be the most clever way to get through customs. Hiding contraband hardware inside scooters or in a car's undercarriage is a no-go. 

In the latest PC hardware smuggling bust, we have a few individuals who hid 780 Intel processors inside the engine of a cross-border bus. Walking past metal detectors with pounds of metal on your body isn't a good idea. Even a fake silicone belly can't conceal processors from metal detectors. However, hiding metal inside other metal can prove fruitful, assuming you're lucky and don't get pulled over for a manual inspection.

The customs officers from the Gongbei Port noticed something fishy about the cross-border vehicle from digital imagery. Upon closer inspection of the engine, they discovered a nifty modification to conceal smuggled goods, which in this case were 780 Intel-branded processors.

The initial estimate of the smuggle bust is over one million yuan, equivalent to $137,341. Unfortunately, we can't get a perfect view of the confiscated chips, but they appear to be from the 12th Generation Alder Lake or 13th Generation Raptor Lake series.

There's a big grey market in China for computer hardware. Processors, graphics cards, and SSDs are the most popular components among buyers. You can get bargain prices on hardware that typically costs much more in a retail store. It's a gamble, though, since you don't receive the manufacturer's warranty. So while it looks like you've saved money when you bought it, it'll cost you more to replace the hardware in the future if it unexpectedly craps out on you.

Zhiye Liu
News Editor and Memory Reviewer

Zhiye Liu is a news editor and memory reviewer at Tom’s Hardware. Although he loves everything that’s hardware, he has a soft spot for CPUs, GPUs, and RAM.

  • TechieTwo
    Must be the punishment in China isn't severe enough to dissuade criminals.
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    I wonder what happens to all the Seized stuff.
    Reply
  • LabRat 891
    Who is writing this? (Or, more importantly) Who's proofreading these articles?

    Sized instead of Seized

    Silicon instead of Silicone
    Reply
  • derekullo
    LabRat 891 said:
    Who is writing this? (Or, more importantly) Who's proofreading these articles?

    Sized instead of Seized

    Silicon instead of Silicone
    You are assuming it was written by a human!
    Reply
  • newtechldtech
    thisisaname said:
    I wonder what happens to all the Seized stuff.
    sold on ebay :P
    Reply
  • neojack
    I wonder why it's a big deal.

    I mean China needs those CPUs for it's economic growth and military , and as far as I know, the sanctions are enforced by the US not by the chinese government. So what is the advantage of the China's government to restrict the importation of CPUs ?
    Reply
  • TCA_ChinChin
    neojack said:
    I wonder why it's a big deal.

    I mean China needs those CPUs for it's economic growth and military , and as far as I know, the sanctions are enforced by the US not by the chinese government. So what is the advantage of the China's government to restrict the importation of CPUs ?
    I think it's because of tariffs? The smugglers try to smuggle in the products so they won't have to declare the processors and pay a tax/tariff? I'm not sure, but that seems to be the only logical conclusion.
    Reply
  • BFG-9000
    Shrug ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

    You only hear about these amateur hour cases because they got caught, as obviously the ones who got through don't make the news. Visible on "closer inspection of the engine" means they were too lazy to put it inside the oilpan or underneath the intake manifold of a V engine. It's not like those inspectors have the time or equipment needed to disassemble an engine or gas tank or the tires, but those plastic engine covers for quieting injector noise usually lift right off with no tools required.

    So, lazy smugglers. And those inspectors have a pretty tough job because there are no electronics-sniffing dogs, so they primarily have to look for suspicious behavior to decide who gets closer inspection.
    Reply
  • Gauche Cockney
    TechieTwo said:
    Must be the punishment in China isn't severe enough to dissuade criminals.
    China's governance is not that harsh as long as you are not a politic dissident, ethnic minority or protestant pastor
    Reply
  • Greg7579
    This is not news anymore. We all know that people sneak CPUs on various modes of transportation in order to skirt various tax laws in China and SE Asia. It is like smuggling cigarettes between States in the 1960s, or crates of beer across State lines to avoid a 2% higher tax in Colorado in 1971.
    Who cares? You want some interesting smuggling stories of all types (drugs and humans)? Come to San Antonio where I live and interview some people....
    Reply