Customs officials on Sunday said they seized illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of around HK$82 million from what they described as a suspicious-looking cargo ship spotted off Kwai Chung the day before.

They arrested eight men aged between 25 and 60 on suspicion of importing unmanifested cargo.

Authorities seized some 22 million cigarette sticks.

Lam Wai-kit, a senior revenue investigator with customs, said he believes a majority of the illicit cigarettes were intended for the local market.

“We believe that 70 percent of these illicit cigarettes are targeting the local market, while the remaining 30 percent are intended for the overseas market, as the brands are not commonly found in Hong Kong,” he said.