Police and Customs say they seized 197 cartons of suspected illicit cigarettes in an anti-smuggling operation in Mui Wo on Saturday.

Officers moved in when they saw men unloading suspected contraband from a speedboat to a truck on Mui Wo Ferry Pier Road. The suspects jumped on the boat and headed south with Marine Police in pursuit. They eventually escaped towards the mainland.

The suspected contraband has an estimated market value of just under HK$9 million dollars and a taxable value of about HK$6.5 million.