Hong Kong customs has seized a smuggled cargo of 45 dismantled private cars and spare parts worth 900,000 HK dollars (US$116,129), the authorities said on Monday.

The vessel carrying the smuggled goods was intercepted on the sea west of Hong Kong Island on Sunday night, said a statement posted Monday on the website of the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR).

A crew of four men aged between 25 and 29 were arrested for the cargo without any export manifest.

It is the second time in one month that the smuggled cargo of dismantled private cars was seized in Hong Kong.

In mid-March, the Hong Kong customs seized 50 dismantled cars from a vessel without an export manifest.

A spokesman for the HKSAR Customs and Excise Department said Monday that the department would continue to take vigorous enforcement actions against smuggling activities.

Under the law of HK, the maximum penalty for smuggling is a fine of 2 million HK dollars (US$258,065) and seven years of imprisonment.

(Xinhua News Agency April 18, 2006)