The Daring Plot to Smuggle 1000’s of CPUs, RAM, NAND, GPUs Throughout Storm Saola

There’s at all times a possibility for chaos should you look arduous sufficient. One Chinese language trafficker had the good thought to smuggle PC {hardware} throughout the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau bridge border amidst the turmoil of class 4 Storm Saola that is affecting the area. He was caught possessing 1,500 processors, 1,470 reminiscence modules, 30 graphics playing cards, and over 40,000 NAND flash; undoubtedly, some confiscated {hardware} is among the many greatest CPUs, graphics playing cards, and RAM.

Within the early morning of September 1, the border authorities pulled over a black Audi SUV suspected of smuggling. The perpetrator had hid the contraband {hardware} inside a hidden part close to the car’s motor space and undercarriage. The operation represents one of many largest smuggling busts of all time, second to solely an arrest from 2021 that hauled in $4 million price of products.

There are most likely greater heists which have gotten by means of customs since we solely hear concerning the profitable busts. Smuggling PC {hardware} from Macau into Mainland China has develop into a worthwhile enterprise. For each one smuggler that’s busted, most likely 4 slips previous the border inspection triumphantly.

On this event, the customs officers seized 1,500 processors, 1,470 reminiscence modules, 30 graphics playing cards, and over 40,000 NAND flash chips. The products have been neatly packaged, so we could not get a more in-depth have a look at the {hardware}. The customs authorities did not share the market worth for the loot. But when we needed to guess, the determine most likely spans half one million to one million {dollars} since we doubt the smuggler is making an attempt to sneak Pentium or Celeron chips into China.

In line with the Chinse rules (by way of HKEPC), the customs authorities will offload the smuggled {hardware} in a public public sale. It is the same old vogue of how customs take care of confiscated items. As an alternative of destroying them to extend digital waste, they’re auctioned off to the general public. The proceeds from the auctions go to the state treasury.

Graphics playing cards have been a preferred commodity in the course of the scarcity. Nevertheless, these days, smugglers choose smaller elements, like processors or M.2 SSDs, that do not take up as a lot area as a graphics card. They’re simpler to cover, too, since you possibly can tape them to your physique or legs, that are the same old strategies to smuggle stuff into China.