Hong Kong customs officers have arrested five men for attempting to smuggle computer hard-disks worth of 2.3 million Hong Kong dollars (295,231 U.S. dollars) in the northwest of Hong Kong, said a government press release on Friday.

The press release said that officers spotted the offenders loading the smuggled goods from a lorry to a speedboat using a forklift on Thursday night. It is believed the syndicate was attempting to smuggle the computer parts to the Chinese mainland using radio transceivers to communicate with accomplices.

The officers seized 2,710 hard-disks and two radio transceivers, and impounded a lorry, a forklift and a speedboat. Five men, aged 21 to 61, were arrested, the press release said.

(Xinhua News Agency December 15, 2007)