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RICKY WILSON
Three of the men accused of importing millions of cigarettes illegally, from right to left, are Qiaoye Wang, Hoong Ping Lee and Kak Hou Yen.
Four men can now be named accused of importing millions of cigarettes illegally into New Zealand.
Hoong Ping Lee, Hong Wei Lim, Qiaoye Wang and Kak Hou Yen appeared in Auckland District Court on Monday, where they pleaded not guilty through their lawyers.
Initially, the names of the four were suppressed because Customs was still conducting investigations and it was feared that naming the men could alert other suspects.
Prosecutor John Kang said customs investigators were no longer concerned that this was the case.
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* The cigarette smuggling operation brought 28 million cigarettes to New Zealand
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Judge Claire Ryan reversed the name suppression and the men are due to return to court in December.
The group faces a series of charges, including defrauding Customs revenue and participating in an organized criminal group.
They were arrested after Customs and police executed search warrants on properties in Auckland’s Mt Roskill, Flat Bush and Albany in September.
Investigators found $ 20,000 in cash and several cigarettes were also seized.
At the time, Customs Investigations Manager Bruce Berry said multiple shipments were seized over six weeks.
A shipment of 2.39 million smuggled cigarettes was intercepted in early August, hidden inside construction materials to evade the payment of $ 2.95 million in taxes and GST, he said.
A shipment of 2.31 million cigarettes was found similarly hidden, to evade payment of $ 2.85 million in taxes and GST.
Earlier this year, Customs intercepted 2.2 million cigarettes that had been exported from Malaysia declared as 175 roof extension units.
If you have suspicions about someone involved in illicit cigarette smuggling, call 0800 4 CUSTOMS confidentially or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 anonymously.
