Smuggler busted with 596 Intel Xeon CPUs valued at $1.5 million — trafficker faces seven-year jailtime and over $256K fine

Photograph of the smuggled CPUs, some outside their containers, from the HK Customs blog post.

According to its official blog post, Hong Kong Customs recently intercepted a private car and seized 596 Intel Xeon CPUs valued at about $1.5 million. The authorities arrested one 51-year-old male driver as a direct consequence. The official post ends with a firm warning against smuggling and, of course, encourages anyone who sees it to report it.

The customs officers found the concealed Xeon processors on both sides of the car’s rear and the trunk’s secret compartments. They didn’t share additional information on the chips’ models, but judging by the design, these could be some of Intel’s previous generation of Xeon parts. The authorities estimated the value at $1.5 million, so each chip is worth around $2,579.