Two Macanese caught smuggling Lafite in pushchair

As demand for wine increases approaching the Chinese New Year, ‘coyotes’ funnelling tax-free wines in Hong Kong and Macau to the mainland are getting creative as well, with the latest suspects attempting to smuggle first growth Château Lafite Rothschild and Martel Cognac inside pushchairs.

Customs officials at Gongbei Port, connecting Zhuhai and Macau, have uncovered 13 bottles of Château Lafite Rothschild and eight bottles of brandy including Martel hidden inside two pushchairs in two separate cases within one day, reported Chinese newspaper Nanfang Metropolis Daily.

This came less than a month before Chinese New Year on 16 February as cross-border Customs departments step up measures to clamp down on smuggling activities.

According to the report, there has been an increase in the smuggling of wine and cigarettes.

Late last year, a man was caught hiding 13 bottles of Opus One under a car bonnet when travelling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.