Customs officers cracked 478 drug cases in 2012, arresting 433 people, and seizing 1,408kg of drugs, representing a drastic increase of 3.3 times compared with the 325kg seized in the previous year.

Delivering the Customs & Excise Department year-end review today, Commissioner of Customs & Excise Clement Cheung said the seizures were mainly cocaine (724.5kg), ketamine (507.6kg), and heroin (73kg).

Mr Cheung said traffickers employed convoluted routes and different means to smuggle drugs into Hong Kong. Most of the cases detected at the airport involved concealment in the body or in luggage.

At land boundary control points, drugs were smuggled by passengers or cross-boundary vehicles employing "ants moving home" tactics, in which drugs were slipped through the boundary in small quantities.

"The department will adopt specific strategies against organised drug syndicates, and strengthen co-operation with the aviation, travel and logistics industries, to expand our intelligence network."

The department detected 198 smuggling cases, seized $342 million worth of articles and arrested 189 people. The number of smuggling cases detected was similar to that of the previous year while the total seizure value dropped by 22%, and the number of arrested people dropped 12%.

Smuggling activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland accounted for 90% of all cases, among which 88 were by sea and 90 by land, representing a drop of 12% and an increase of 36% on the previous year.

Customs detected 10,910 illicit cigarette cases, arrested 11,016 people, and seized 76 million illicit cigarettes involving tax of $130 million. Compared with 2011, both the number of cases and the number of arrested people increased by 20%. The amount of cigarettes seized decreased by nearly 30%.

Targeting the sale of illicit cigarettes by telephone order, the department established a 15-officer Telephone Order Task Unit in April. In the special operations conducted by the Task Unit, 147 people, including 69 buyers, were arrested, with 3.2 million cigarettes seized, and 50 vehicles detained.

On intellectual property rights, the department detected 116 piracy cases, and arrested 166 people, representing a decrease of more than 60%. The value of seizures dropped by 78% to $6.9 million.

About 8.18 million passengers will pass through sea, land and air control points during the Lunar New Year festive period from February 8 to 17, up 11% on last year.

The Immigration Department said today 74% of these passengers, or 6.03 million people, will pass through land boundary control points.

The number of outbound passengers using land boundary control points will reach its peak on February 8 with about 327,000 passengers departing Hong Kong, while inbound traffic will be at its heaviest on February 13 with 381,000 people arriving.

Lo Wu Control Point will be the busiest crossing, with 2.76 million passengers using it throughout the festive period – a daily average of 276,000.

Passenger traffic at the Lok Ma Chau, Lok Ma Chau Spur Line, and Shenzhen Bay control points will also be heavy, with daily average forecasts of 86,000, 122,000 and 94,000 people.

Hong Kong residents who require assistance while travelling outside Hong Kong can call (852) 1868.