“Chinese Customs Officials Discovered a Wheelchair-Bound Man with an Unusual Appearance, and Upon Searching Him, They Found a Staggering 97 Mobile Phones”

On August 7, at the Zhuhai Port, the General Administration of Customs of China detained a Macao wheelchair user attempting to smuggle used mobile phones. The individual had modified their electric wheelchair to conceal 97 phones as they tried to enter the mainland from Macao.

A Macao resident named Chen entered the customs inspection hall at Zhuhai Port using the “undeclared channel” while riding an electric wheelchair. Customs officers noticed that the wheelchair was moving slower than usual and appeared to have been modified. They stopped Chen and requested an inspection. After putting the wheelchair through a scanner, the images revealed abnormalities in the wheelchair’s battery box area.

Upon dismantling the wheelchair, officers discovered a batch of 121 used mobile phones carefully wrapped and stacked inside the battery box.

In recent years, the use of electric wheelchairs for smuggling electronic products has become more prevalent. The battery box of an electric wheelchair provides an ideal hiding place for criminals to conceal such products, especially used mobile phones.

Just last month, a woman in an electric wheelchair was caught attempting to smuggle 103 used phones into the mainland. Customs officers found three phones in her backpack and suspected that the wheelchair might also be used for hiding contraband. Indeed, after scanning the battery box, they discovered 103 more phones wrapped and hidden inside.

In December 2023, a passenger was found to be hiding 300 Nintendo Switch game cartridges in their wheelchair. In two other cases, in August 2023 and March 2024, Chinese customs seized a total of 328 mobile phones hidden in electric wheelchairs. Additionally, in March 2023, a man tried to smuggle 84 SSD hard drives inside an electric scooter.

In 2019, a man pretending to be disabled was found to be smuggling 415 iPhones worth over $30,000 in his wheelchair. Security officers became suspicious as the man appeared anxious and avoided eye contact. Upon inspection, they discovered 60 iPhones hidden under the seat, 317 more inside the battery box, 12 in his backpack, and surprisingly, 26 phones taped around his waist.