The ride ends here: 84 SSDs hidden in an electric scooter seized by customs
The Chinese Customs office has seized a large number of solid-state storage hidden in an electric scooter.
At Guangdong-Macau “Qingmao” checkpoint, Chinese officers noticed an unusual x-ray of an electric scooter. As discovered the front section had hidden packages containing many packages of NVMe SSDs.
Electric Scooter with hidden NVMe SSDs, Source: Chinese Customs
On March 3rd, as many as 84 SSDs drives were found in Yadea KS electric scooter during a crossing of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao border. An unnamed individual has placed a large package of Kingston SSDs in a hollow space in the steering rod. Custom officers are well aware of the methods used by smugglers, who typically hide packages in the large battery compartment.
This person decided to take advantage of the thin and rectangular design of the NVMe SSDs by hiding them in a hollow space in the front section. While the idea was extraordinary and would have likely given the individual a large profit, it was also effortless to spot through the X-Ray.
Electric Scooter with hidden NVMe SSDs, Source: Chinese Customs
Over the past few years, stories have emerged of multiple individuals trying to smuggle hundreds of Intel CPUs through Chinese customs. In some cases, these CPUs were wrapped around their bodies and the value of smuggled goods would even exceed $120K.
This attempt shows the ingenuity of the smugglers who quickly adapted to miniaturization of the PC components. Authorities have not confirmed what was the value of the smuggled goods or what fine would this person be subject to. It must have been well worth the risk, though.
Source: Chinese Customs Office via Wccftech
