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Not very smart: Man busted for smuggling 94 iPhones strapped to body
By Steven Jiang, CNN
Updated 12:36 PM ET, Tue January 13, 2015
Beijing (CNN) - When it comes to smuggling, not all mules are created equal.
Chinese customs officials on Sunday busted a Hong Kong man trying to sneak 94 iPhones into the mainland -- by strapping them on his body.
The man caught the attention of inspectors at the Futian crossing in Shenzhen, a southern Chinese metropolis bordering Hong Kong, when he walked like someone carrying a heavy load despite appearing to travel light, customs officials told CNN on Tuesday.
After finding nothing suspicious in his two plastic shopping bags, officials asked the man to pass through a metal detector -- and the alarm went off.
Photos released by customs authorities show dozens of neatly shrink-wrapped shiny iPhones strapped around the man's chest, abdomen, crotch and thighs with duct tape.
Officials discovered both the iPhone 6 and iPhone 5S models and estimated the total value of the devices to exceed 300,000 yuan ($49,000).
The man -- whose record revealed numerous previous run-ins with customs regulations -- was held for further questioning.
Mainland market
Apple's iPhones are immensely popular in Mainland China. In October, it took just six hours for customers of the country's three mobile carriers to reserve one million units of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus ahead of their official launch.
Apple handsets are more expensive in the mainland than Hong Kong, however, due to higher import taxes.
An iPhone 6 with 64 gigabytes of storage, for instance, sells for almost $1,000 in the mainland but only about $820 in Hong Kong -- and the price difference has created a huge and lucrative black market supplied by smugglers.
Shenzhen customs officials disclosed that they have caught 18 mules strapping smuggled electronic products -- including 282 iPhones -- on their bodies since December.
For the Hong Kong mule caught on Sunday, he may have lost his 94 iPhones, but likely made the record books.
John Q. Student
1/20/15
3rd Period
Current Event #1 – Asia
Not very smart: Man busted for smuggling 94 iPhones strapped to body
Cnn.com/Steven Jiang
1/13/15
A man in Hong Kong was arrested for trying to sneak 94 iPhones into mainland China. He taped the phones all over his body. Customs officers caught him after they noticed he was walking funny and made him go through a metal detector. The reason he was trying to smuggle them into the mainland, is so he could sell them. iPhones are cheaper in Hong Kong because of import taxes in the rest of China, so there are a lot of iPhone smugglers. It doesn’t say what will happen to him, only that he was kept for more questioning.
This relates to government because the government made it illegal (rules and laws) to smuggle iPhones into mainland China. An iPhone is an important tool (material culture) for many people these days. The guy was smuggling phones to make money (economy - making a living). The customs officials were part of a work group (social organization). Finally, this story could connect with morality (belief system) because the person with the iPhones probably didn’t think what they were doing was wrong.
I think it’s very important to make sure this doesn’t happen in sports. For other sports with a lot of money and gambling involved, like football, players might be tempted to take money to lose on purpose, but that would go against the main purpose of sports. When you watch sports, you want the best player to win. That’s why you watch. I hope this doesn’t happen in the NFL or NBA.