Over four million dollars in cash was uncovered including $3.2 million stuffed into rubbish sacks at a storage unit during an Auckland Customs raid breaking open a smuggling ring importing cigarettes from China concealed inside furniture shipments. Tax revenue evaded was $18.7 million.
It was a family affair: husband Wei Yi Hu was sentenced to five years three months imprisonment for customs fraud and wife Hua Yi Zhu three years; her China-based brother, who organised shipments, remained safely outside the jurisdiction of New Zealand courts.
Zhu unsuccessfully appealed her sentence of three year’s imprisonment. She was a minor player in the scheme, she said. Further, there were cultural issues in play, she said. In Chinese culture, wives show deference to their spouses and do their bidding.
The sentence was not manifestly excessive, Justice Davison ruled. Zhu played an active, central and significant role over an extended period of time between 2015 and 2018, he said. While her husband was described as the mastermind behind operations, there was evidence Zhu dealt directly with cigarette suppliers in China, liaised with her brother over shipment details and initiated payments to China.
Zhu v. Customs – High Court (20.05.22)
22.090