The Customs & Excise Department will formulate a smart customs blueprint to boost its law-keeping and trade facilitation capabilities.

Delivering the department’s year-end review today, Commissioner of Customs & Excise Hermes Tang said the department plans to play a more diversified role by becoming an economic development promoter, in addition to its traditional law enforcer and service provider role.

It will build up a four-key-pillar concept comprising Smart Boundary Management, Smart Investigation & Risk Management, Smart Trade Facilitation and Smart Business Development, covering the department’s core business aspects.

The ultimate goal is to build up an all-in-one smart customs system, Mr Tang added.

The Commissioner also briefed the media on the department's law enforcement and trade facilitation work last year.

It handled more than 22,500 cases in 2018, an increase of 38% year-on-year.

Drug cases dropped 3% to 919, while the quantity of drugs seized went up 22% to 1.352 tonnes.

Mr Tang said the drug situation in Hong Kong is under control.

“As we see, there is still (an) abundant supply and demand of drugs worldwide. Production, trafficking and the use of illicit drugs do not stop at the borders. They are a transnational crime. And tackling this problem is a shared responsibility of all countries.

“We therefore, stepped up international co-operation and stringent enforcement actions inland and at control points. As a result, last year we seized 255kg of cocaine and 343kg of GBL (gamma-butyrolactone), representing an 83% and 180% increase in comparison with 2017.

“But I have to stress that the drug situation in Hong Kong is under control and our city is not a drug transit centre.”