China Customs Catch Smuggler With 306 CPUs Strapped to His Body, Likely Includes AMD Ryzen 7000 Series Processors

China has recently witnessed a surge in the smuggling of CPU and GPU parts. The latest incident involves Chinese customs apprehending a smuggler who was attempting to transport a significant number of 306 CPUs, concealed on his body. Following the arrest, Qingmao Customs in Macau released images related to the incident.

This comes after earlier reported news of Chinese officials catching two men smuggling Nvidia Quadro K2200 GPUs into the country. There was also a report of Chinese Customs apprehending a pregnant woman with 202 Intel Alder Lake CPU processors a few months ago.

As reported by People’s Daily (via Tom’s Hardware), the latest perpetrator was caught at the Qingmao port while trying to enter mainland China through Macau. He was seen “walking in an abnormal posture” before he was apprehended. After he was caught, Chinese Customs revealed that he had a “girdle” of CPUs strapped to his body, as well as a bunch of them taped to his leg.

At the moment, it is not known which CPUs were being smuggled into China. However, speculation points to the AMD Ryzen 7000 series CPUs due to the “octopus” IHS spotted in one of the photos.

Furthermore, it is not illegal to obtain CPUs and GPUs in China. However, the perpetrator was caught because he tried to smuggle them illegally by not declaring them.

The reason why most smugglers resort to these measures is the difference in tax rates on consumer goods. Hong Kong and Macau have zero VAT on consumer goods, while China mainland levies 13% VAT.