Hong Kong authorities halt alleged smuggler shifting 596 'high-end' CPUs to China
(2024/06/19)
- Reference: 1718778672
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/06/19/hong_kong_cpu_smuggler_busted/
- Source link:
Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department on Monday revealed it intercepted 596 CPUs that an alleged smuggler was trying to ship into China.
The agency [1]announced that on June 11 its staff spotted a suspect vehicle attempting to pass through the Shenzhen Bay Control Point – one of the checkpoints between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Officers felt the vehicle worthy of X-ray inspection – a hunch that paid off after it was found to contain CPUs hidden in false compartments.
[2]
The agency valued the CPUs at HKD$12 million – around $1.5 million, or about $2,500 apiece.
[3]
CPUs stashed in a car found by Hong Kong Authorities - Click to enlarge
Customs investigator Ho Ting-chun [4]told The South China Morning Post the chips were high-end devices capable of powering cloud services and AI workloads.
The Register used a [5]photo of the CPUs posted by the agency and applied reverse image search to identify the part: we're confident it's a recent Intel Xeon, but can't say with any certainty which model.
[6]
[7]
Between the $2,500-per-CPU valuation and authorities' assessment that the chips are high-end product, the possibility this haul could comprise kit not permitted to enter China under current US sanctions cannot be dismissed. If that is indeed the case, it's another example of "evasion routes" China uses to get its hands on gear.
[8]Google gives in to Hong Kong, blocks fake national anthem on YouTube
[9]Hong Kong promises its latest national security law is not a ban on social media
[10]Hong Kong securities regulator to name suspicious crypto players
[11]Please stop pouring the wrong radioactive water into the sea, Fukushima operator told
Hong Kong authorities spot quite a lot of contraband tech crossing the border, but the government news feeds we keep an eye on mostly mention cigarettes and counterfeit fashion items – and of course the memorable vanload of [12]lobsters and GPUs we spotted in May 2023.
In the same year – and next door to Hong Kong in the former Portuguese colony of Macau – authorities [13]apprehended a chap who strapped several 13th-gen Intel Core i5s to his body and tried to get into China. Also in Macau, this time in 2021, a smuggler used cling film to [14]wrap himself in 256 Intel Core i7-10700 and Core i9-10900K processors.
While such incidents have an amusing side, a major reason for US bans on tech exports is preventing China’s military from using advanced processors to do things like simulate nuclear weapons tests. China's government is also credibly accused of conducting numerous offensive cyber-ops that could be made more efficient – and thus damaging – with more powerful silicon.
[15]
Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department hasn't offered any info about the possible buyers for this batch of kit, nor its provenance. It has, however, celebrated the HKD$3 million in taxes the alleged perp failed to avoid. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.customs.gov.hk/en/customs-announcement/press-release/index_id_4224.html?p=1&y=&m=
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/06/19/supplied_smuggled_cpus_hongkong_inside_car_2.jpg
[4] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3266962/hong-kong-customs-seizes-596-high-end-cpus-cross-border-smuggling-case
[5] https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202406/17/P2024061700251_photo_1274093.jpg
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/16/google_blocks_hongkong_anthem/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/21/hk_article_23/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/27/hong_kong_sfc_crypto_regulations/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/minister_fukushima_leak/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/03/smulgger_gpus_and_lobsters/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/30/smugglers_busted_sneaking_tech_into/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/09/china_cpu_gpu/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
The agency [1]announced that on June 11 its staff spotted a suspect vehicle attempting to pass through the Shenzhen Bay Control Point – one of the checkpoints between Hong Kong and mainland China.
Officers felt the vehicle worthy of X-ray inspection – a hunch that paid off after it was found to contain CPUs hidden in false compartments.
[2]
The agency valued the CPUs at HKD$12 million – around $1.5 million, or about $2,500 apiece.
[3]
CPUs stashed in a car found by Hong Kong Authorities - Click to enlarge
Customs investigator Ho Ting-chun [4]told The South China Morning Post the chips were high-end devices capable of powering cloud services and AI workloads.
The Register used a [5]photo of the CPUs posted by the agency and applied reverse image search to identify the part: we're confident it's a recent Intel Xeon, but can't say with any certainty which model.
[6]
[7]
Between the $2,500-per-CPU valuation and authorities' assessment that the chips are high-end product, the possibility this haul could comprise kit not permitted to enter China under current US sanctions cannot be dismissed. If that is indeed the case, it's another example of "evasion routes" China uses to get its hands on gear.
[8]Google gives in to Hong Kong, blocks fake national anthem on YouTube
[9]Hong Kong promises its latest national security law is not a ban on social media
[10]Hong Kong securities regulator to name suspicious crypto players
[11]Please stop pouring the wrong radioactive water into the sea, Fukushima operator told
Hong Kong authorities spot quite a lot of contraband tech crossing the border, but the government news feeds we keep an eye on mostly mention cigarettes and counterfeit fashion items – and of course the memorable vanload of [12]lobsters and GPUs we spotted in May 2023.
In the same year – and next door to Hong Kong in the former Portuguese colony of Macau – authorities [13]apprehended a chap who strapped several 13th-gen Intel Core i5s to his body and tried to get into China. Also in Macau, this time in 2021, a smuggler used cling film to [14]wrap himself in 256 Intel Core i7-10700 and Core i9-10900K processors.
While such incidents have an amusing side, a major reason for US bans on tech exports is preventing China’s military from using advanced processors to do things like simulate nuclear weapons tests. China's government is also credibly accused of conducting numerous offensive cyber-ops that could be made more efficient – and thus damaging – with more powerful silicon.
[15]
Hong Kong's Customs and Excise Department hasn't offered any info about the possible buyers for this batch of kit, nor its provenance. It has, however, celebrated the HKD$3 million in taxes the alleged perp failed to avoid. ®
Get our [16]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.customs.gov.hk/en/customs-announcement/press-release/index_id_4224.html?p=1&y=&m=
[2] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[3] https://regmedia.co.uk/2024/06/19/supplied_smuggled_cpus_hongkong_inside_car_2.jpg
[4] https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3266962/hong-kong-customs-seizes-596-high-end-cpus-cross-border-smuggling-case
[5] https://gia.info.gov.hk/general/202406/17/P2024061700251_photo_1274093.jpg
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2024/05/16/google_blocks_hongkong_anthem/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2024/03/21/hk_article_23/
[10] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/27/hong_kong_sfc_crypto_regulations/
[11] https://www.theregister.com/2024/02/23/minister_fukushima_leak/
[12] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/03/smulgger_gpus_and_lobsters/
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/03/30/smugglers_busted_sneaking_tech_into/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2021/07/09/china_cpu_gpu/
[15] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/systems&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZnKsQ3qCXA7nJD2VbyE0bAAAAJE&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[16] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Thanks for the memories
Conundrum1885
I heard some useful intel.
A certain manufacturer of high end (1TB) microSDs accidentally screwed up, labeled a bunch of them and then set up
incorrectly as 64GB even sending out an entire batch of these cards thus losing over $500,000+ worth of hardware.
Now I am not calling customs evasion because the price of these is so high that they behaved *exactly* like the specification
bar having very high speed and substantially higher power use.
So it isn't a simple matter to repair this, as the firmware is baked in at the factory and typically can't be changed.
Likely they got sent back under warranty or better still, repaired and used for some embedded application where label didn't matter.
Fortunately the marking on the back was correct and it also showed up on a weight test when customer checked
to see if the cards were as specified due to some incompatibility, and correct cards were then
sent out by overnight mail from a closer location.
mark l 2
Now they have been seized by Hong Kong customs the they will go for 'destruction' and in no way will then end up getting sequestered by the CCP.
Those are the ones they wanted you to find
Tip of the iceberg.
By the way the suspected crime was for an unmanifested cargo. Tch! Tch!