Customs officers discovered a large number of second-hand ski boots, snowboards, and other skiing gear in a large container that had been declared for customs clearance.
When the container door was opened, a foul smell hit them, revealing a jumble of ski boots, snowboards, and ski poles. Yesterday, Beijing Customs revealed that a recent random inspection at the Chaoyang Port uncovered a batch of foreign waste shipped from Japan — the first such seizure by Beijing Customs in recent years.
Yesterday afternoon around 3 p.m., reporters at the Chaoyang Port saw the foreign waste packed inside a large container. Once the door was opened, a strong unpleasant odor wafted out, with various colored used ski boots scattered all over. A count revealed there were 2,580 pairs of ski boots, 480 snowboards, and 405 pairs of ski poles. “These skiing items are mostly outdated and, once brought into the country, would flow to local ski resorts. Aside from being a health hazard to users, their severe wear also poses safety risks,” an official from the Chaoyang Port explained.
It is understood that this batch of skiing gear was declared to customs on the 20th of this month by Beijing Zhongbei Wanxing International Trade Co., Ltd. Among them, one pair of ski boots was declared at a price of $5, while the market price for a new pair of ski boots is at least several hundred yuan. After confirmation, this shipment is suspected of involving goods prohibited from import into the country (such as used clothing and foreign waste), and has now been handed over to anti-smuggling authorities for investigation and handling.