The Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong has seized 300 crypto mining graphic cards in an anti-smuggling operation. The dedicated mining cards were reportedly headed to the Chinese mining markets.
According to the press release by the Hong Kong customs, the department conducted an anti-smuggling operation on Friday, detecting a suspected smuggling case in the waters close to the Hong Kong International Airport. The suspects were caught using a fishing vessel and a speedboat to carry out their illegal operations.
The total value of the seized goods has been estimated at $31 million by the government. The officials also found other high-valued essentials like food and cosmetics in the seized goods.
As per the press statement, the men who used the fishing vessel to move the mining cards into the speedboat fled the scene. However, the investigation is still ongoing with the owner of the fishing vessel under custody since Saturday.
The Customs press release stressed that the department would “keep up its enforcement action” and ensure that sea smuggling activities are eliminated. The department pledged to be more robust in implementing risk-management and enforcement strategies based on intelligence to stop illegal activities in the country’s waters.
Per a MyDrivers report, dedicated mining cards are becoming popular as there is a global shortage of game graphic cards. Chinese miners are going to great lengths to source ASIC mining equipment and GPUs amid surging BTC and ETH prices. The specifics about the units held have not been announced, but the model is believed to be NVIDIA’s CMP 30HX.