Customs officers say they have seized electronic waste worth HK$12 million which they suspect was being smuggled out of Hong Kong, adding they have arrested a shipping company director in relation to the case.

At a press briefing on Monday, officers said they found a batch of computer parts, 1,600 TV set-top boxes, as well as 1,800 vehicle parts in two containers which were going to be shipped to Malaysia a week ago.

Lai Siu-ming, an investigator from Customs’ syndicate crimes investigation bureau, said they became suspicious after X-ray images of the containers showed contents other than what the shipper had declared.

“A permit is needed for anyone to export harmful waste out of Hong Kong,” he said.

“We asked the Environmental Protection Department to examine the exhibits. It said preliminary findings showed all of them were harmful waste, while the sender hadn’t applied for a permit. In other words, this batch of harmful waste was being exported illegally.”

Lau said a 57-year-old woman has been arrested.