In the latest installment of hardware smuggling busts by Chinese customs, authorities have arrested a hardware trafficker that tried to sneak 420 M.2 SSDs into China. Customs estimated the seized SSDs are worth around HK$258,000 or $32,984.94. Perhaps some of those drives are among the best SSDs.
Chinese news outlet HKEPC first spotted the story and reported that the smuggler tried to slip the illicit goods from Macau to Zhuhai through the Gongbei Port. Given the proximity between Macau and Zhuhai, the passage is one of the most popular trafficking routes for mules. It wasn't long ago that a woman hid more than 200 Alder Lake chips inside her fake silicone belly, or another man tried to stroll into China with 160 Intel processors taped to his body.
Normally, traffickers try to smuggle high-value goods, such as processors or graphics cards. A recent attempt to conceal 70 graphics cards among 617 pounds of live lobster comes to mind. On the contrary, this SSD smuggler opted to sneak in lower-value hardware instead. It isn't the first time we've seen M.2 SSDs transported into China. A recent bust from this year detained a man that hid 84 SSDs inside his scooter. M.2 SSDs still contain metallic parts, so it's close to impossible to get past metal detectors without raising the alarm with the metal detectors.
Instead of hiding the SSDs inside a package, the perpetrator opted to tape the drives around his body for a bigger haul. The seized bounty amounted to 420 M.2 drives, equal to a combined value of approximately $32,984.94. At $78.53 a piece, the offender could be smuggling 1TB or 2TB PCIe 4.0 drives.
For that matter, smuggling hardware from Macau or Hong Kong bypasses the customs duties that the Chinese government applies to the goods. As a result, the individuals who hire the smugglers see greater profit margins when they resell on platforms such as Goofish.
There's a big grey market in mainland China for consumer electronic devices, including computer hardware. Therefore, the smuggling is unlikely to stop. On the other hand, smugglers are just thinking up more creative methods to get goods into mainland China.
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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.
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Rakanyshu
the thing is that they usually don't get caught, you'd be surprised to know that lots of people not so long ago and probably still trafic drugs, smuggle jewerly and all sort of things doing it this way. Why? because there is just 2 many people to search them all, sometimes perpetrators use dumb mules to snitch on so they can pass another load in another mule...TechieTwo said:These smugglers must be dumber than a rock to believe they will not get caught.
Some of these people are just in a bad position and desperate so they make poor choices, real criminals take advantage of this. -
The Historical Fidelity
I’m sorry, I just wanted to say, nice use of “Perhaps some of those are among the best SSD’s”. I guess any news is good news to advertise other TH articles lolAdmin said:Chinese publication HKEPC reported that Chinese authorities caught a smuggler trying to sneak almost $32,000 worth of SSD through customs.
Smuggler Caught With 420 M.2 SSDs Strapped to His Stomach : Read more -
derekullo This kind of behavior is never tolerated in Baraqua!Reply
You smuggle Samsung ssds like that they put you in jail.
Right away. No trial, no nothing.
Smuggle iPhones, we have a special jail for people who smuggle iPhones. -
GenericUser For every smuggler that gets caught, there's probably another 10 that actually made it through.Reply -
Friesiansam
It's not the actual smugglers who get caught, it's the mules they force to try and carry things over the border and, the mules are expendable...TechieTwo said:These smugglers must be dumber than a rock to believe they will not get caught. -
schwaggins
Why is it considered so bad though? What harm is it actually doing to anyone? I'm genuinely curiousderekullo said:This kind of behavior is never tolerated in Baraqua!
You smuggle Samsung ssds like that they put you in jail.
Right away. No trial, no nothing.
Smuggle iPhones, we have a special jail for people who smuggle iPhones. -
USAFRet
Customs import fees not collectedschwaggins said:Why is it considered so bad though? What harm is it actually doing to anyone? I'm genuinely curious
Local taxes not collected
Possibly low quality drives relabeled as Samsung or similar high end devices. Counterfeiting.
Very likely no warranty to the eventual purchaser