Half of gambler's $2.3 million winning seized by customs

A South Korean gambler won a whopping HK$13 million (S$2.3m) while at a Macau casino, only to have about half of it seized by Chinese customs.

The man had tried to pass through Gongbei Port, an immigration and customs checkpoint, without declaring that he was carrying HK$7 million in cash.

He had put the HK$1,000 bills into 70 bundles, which he carried in a black shoulder bag through customs on Monday (June 29) at around 11am.

Officers thought the bag looked heavy and asked him to put it through a machine for further checks.

He was later told to open the bag.

The South Korean told officers he had won HK$13 million at a casino and was planning to take about half of it to a bank.

He claimed he did not know that cash amounts above US$5,000 (S$6,800) had to be declared to authorities.

The man was detained and handed over to the anti-smuggling division.

Gongbei immigration authorities said the sum of HK$7 million was the largest amount seized this year for failure to report the transport of currency.

Sources: NetEase, Sina