Chinese customs recently stopped 780 Intel CPUs that smugglers were trying to bring in at Gongbei Port, which connects Macau and Zhuhai. Chinese smugglers are renowned for using creative strategies to get around customs. These smugglers try to avoid paying customs in a variety of ways, one of which is by strapping the items to themselves. In this most recent occurrence, the smugglers adopted what appeared to be a cunning strategy by concealing the processors under the engine of a cross-border bus. But it’s dangerous to go past metal detectors with so much metal, and even clever disguises can’t protect processors from perceptive detectors.

The customs officers at the Gongbei Port became wary of the bus after looking at its computerized images. A thorough engine check revealed the cunningly concealed 780 Intel processors that were being transported. The seized goods are thought to be worth over one million yuan, or roughly $137,341. The chips that were seized appear to be from the 12th Generation Alder Lake or 13th generation Raptor Lake series, though their particular models remain unclear. The substantial black market for computer parts in China is both beneficial and detrimental. Although CPUs, GPUs, and SSDs can be found for enticing prices, these offers frequently exclude the manufacturer’s guarantee. Therefore, even if the early reductions can seem alluring, the lack of a guarantee introduces dangers that may eventually outweigh those gains.