Smuggling attempt goes wrong
An unusual cargo has been discovered by HK Customs.
NVIDIA Quadro K2200 GPUs, Source: HK Customs
On April 28, Hong Kong Customs stopped a private car on a suspicion of a smuggling. The car did indeed have an unusual cargo, which were 280 kilograms of live lobsters and… 70 video cards.
The customs were quick to determine that the GPUs and lobsters were worth 600K HK (around 76K USD). At the current average value of one kilogram lobster (30 USD), this means that the graphics cards were worth more than 67K USD.
This is hardly the case though, as the GPUs that were being smuggled are now ‘a bit old’ NVIDIA Quadro K2200 series based on Maxwell architecture. We are looking at a 9-year-old GPU at this point, and something that can easily be found for around $160, notes The Register.
Why would smugglers risk everything for such an old GPU, we do not know. What we do know is that this GPU is not even worth much to cryptominers, as it only offers 4GB of GDDR5 memory.
NVIDIA Quadro K2200 GPUs, Source: HK Customs
This is not the first time computer parts are found as unregistered cargo. The most recent cases were 84 SSDs hidden in an electric scooter. Last year, a single man attempted to smuggle 160 processors that were strapped to his body. However, this might the most ingenious idea thus far.
Source: HK Customs, The Register, Tom’s Hardware
