Dangerous goods were concealed, customs seized 14.5 tons of dangerous goods hidden in containers

The concealment and concealment of dangerous goods was once again investigated and punished. Recently, when Shenzhen Shekou Customs inspected an export container with the declared product name "Audio",It was found that a large number of undeclared dry powder fire extinguishers were actually loaded in the cabinet, with a total weight of 14.5 tons, belonging to Category 2.2 dangerous goods.This batch of goods was loaded in a 45-foot high container. The export company failed to fill in the cargo information truthfully, causing the dangerous goods to enter the transportation process in the name of ordinary goods.

From the perspective of cargo attributes, although Class 2.2 dangerous goods are non-flammable and non-toxic gases, a large number of them are pressure vessel goods. During the long-term sealed transportation of containers, safety hazards may still occur due to factors such as high temperature, collision, and extrusion. Especially in high-temperature environments in summer, the requirements for packaging, storage, and transportation are more stringent.

For shipping companies, concealing dangerous goods not only increases the safety risks of ships, ports and personnel, but may also affect the normal operation of the entire supply chain.

In recent years, major shipping companies have continued to strengthen the review of dangerous goods declarations. Once false declarations are found, they will face high compensation.

Taking ONE as an example, according to the "Notice of Surcharge Update" released by it,A new "compensation for breach of agreement" charging mechanism will be implemented from January 1, 2026: If the customer takes the initiative to correct the concealed information, the compensation for dangerous and prohibited goods will be US,000/container; if ONE discovers that the goods are inconsistent with the declaration during the inspection process, the compensation for dangerous and prohibited goods can be up to US,000/container.In other words, if the concealed declaration of dangerous goods is found out after the shipping company inspects it, you may face a breach of contract compensation fee of up to US,000/container.

For freight forwarders and export companies, the impact of underdeclaring dangerous goods goes far beyond fines. Once seized by customs or shipping companies, they may face chain consequences such as cargo detention, return of shipment, customs administrative penalties, damage to corporate credit, stricter review of subsequent bookings, and refusal of shipping by shipping companies. However, fines and administrative penalties may still be solved with money - more serious challenges are coming.

For a long time, some practitioners have been lucky and believed that concealing dangerous goods for export or concealing them for export would only face administrative penalties such as withholding, fines or return of goods, which fell into the category of "economic penalties". However, a typical criminal case recently announced by Shanghai Customs completely breaks this perception:Falsifying and concealing the export of large quantities of fireworks and firecrackers has been deemed by the judicial authorities as a felony endangering public safety, and all participants in the chain will be sentenced to actual imprisonment.

On June 16, 2026, the Shanghai Railway Transport Court held a public hearing on the case of false reporting of exported fireworks and firecrackers seized by Yangshan Customs, a subsidiary of Shanghai Customs, and pronounced the verdict in court. After investigation, from August to September 2025, Shanghai Customs and local public security departments seized two containers in the port area, totaling approximately 38.51 million pieces of exported fireworks and firecrackers with false declarations. In order to reduce costs, circumvent the dangerous goods declaration process and evade strict supervision, the gang involved falsely declared explosive and high-risk dangerous goods as ordinary goods and attempted to export them privately through shipping channels.

In the end, the two principal criminals conspired to purchase and transport fireworks and firecrackers, and falsely declared a large number of fireworks and firecrackers as general goods to declare for export. They were found to have constituted the crime of endangering public safety by dangerous methods and were sentenced to actual imprisonment in the first instance. Four accomplices were also sentenced in the first instance for participating in transportation, container loading supervision and other aspects. This case is the first benchmark case in which Shanghai Port has achieved full-chain criminal liability for concealing the export of dangerous goods. It is also a landmark case for Shanghai Customs to promote criminal liability for false and concealed export of dangerous goods.

On the day of the court hearing, Shanghai Customs organized more than 20 people, including officials and employees from the customs area, as well as representatives from customs declaration associations and enterprises, to attend the court and carry out industry warning education by "explaining the law with cases". Shanghai Customs stated that in the next step, it will continue to deepen the coordination and joint governance between customs and local authorities, promote the transformation of the crackdown on false reporting of dangerous goods such as fireworks and firecrackers at ports from case investigation to systematic management, and continue to maintain a high-pressure and severe crackdown situation.

From the 14.5 tons of fire extinguishers hidden in Shekou, Shenzhen, to the false reporting of 38.51 million fireworks and firecrackers in Shanghai Port, to the official implementation of full-chain criminal accountability, the signal is clear enough: the legal consequences of concealing dangerous goods have extended from economic penalties to criminal sentencing.

Any attempt to circumvent dangerous goods transportation requirements through "general cargo declaration" may face triple severe penalties including cargo detention, high liquidated damages, and criminal sentencing. There is no “room for luck” in exporting dangerous goods. Compliance declaration, truthful declaration and standardized operation have become the only long-term survival bottom line for the foreign trade and logistics industry.