Smugglers used “water mules” to move high-tariff wine and spirits across the Macau border as trade policies widened price gaps. Read More
Crime
A bottle of Krug Clos d’Ambonnay 2002 — one of the world’s rarest Champagnes — turned a candlelit dinner in Hong Kong’s Central district into an HK$84,000 (US$10,760) nightmare. Read More
South Korean customs authorities say international drug traffickers are disguising narcotics as everyday consumer goods — including wine — as part of increasingly sophisticated smuggling operations into Asia. Read More
Chinese police have busted more than 540 criminal cases involving counterfeit “special supply liquor,” seizing 260,000 bottles worth 3.7 billion yuan (US$515 million), the Ministry of Public Security said Tuesday. Read More
Australia’s bestselling brand [yellow tail] is getting a facelift, going upmarket, and cracking down on copycats in China — all in a bid to stay ahead in a cooler, more crowded market. Read More
For a man with a doctorate and overseas education, Gong Yimin’s downfall was surprisingly pedestrian: whisky. Not just any whisky, but thousands of bottles of premium Scotch, slipped past Chinese customs under the radar — and vastly undervalued. Read More
Spanish authorities have uncovered yet another wine counterfeiting operation involving fake Rioja wines exported to China—marking the second such case aimed at the Asian market that Spanish police have cracked in 2025. Read More
With just a junior high school education, Zhuang built one of China’s largest alcohol smuggling rings, evading $20 million in taxes and exposing a vast underground network exploiting e-commerce and Hong Kong trade routes. Read More
A Singaporean man has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison for masterminding a fraudulent wine investment scheme that defrauded investors of over SGD 12.6 million, authorities said. Read More
A British man accused of orchestrating a nearly US$100 million wine investment scam will be extradited to the United States to face charges, a London court ruled this week. Read More