A Nintendo Switch smuggler was caught with hundreds of game cartridges by Chinese authorities, although it’s a little different from the Nintendo Switch shortage that we’ve been experiencing in the West. The smuggled cartridges included Animal Crossing: New Horizons among many other titles.
Niko Partners Senior Analyst Daniel Ahmad reports that the smuggler was caught by Gongbei Port customs in Guangdong Province, China. He was coming into Mainland China via Macau and failed to declare that he was transporting these goods into the country.
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Apparently, he isn’t the first Nintendo Switch smuggler either — so far, government authorities have seized a total of 2,000 game cartridges so far. This is the fourth such case in a month.
While the Nintendo Switch has indeed been released in China, the country has their own special version of the console with special releases. China has notoriously strict game regulations, so much so that the Chinese eShop has a fraction of the titles that are available in the West.
Trying to bring a few hundred game carts into the country without authorization is a big no-no. Gongbei customs reminded citizens that it’s illegal to bring large quantities of goods into the country without declaring it.
The Gongbei customs put up a reminder that only a limited amount of goods, for personal use, can be transported through customs without declaring.
The import and export of a large number of goods must be declared and purposefully smuggling a large number of goods is illegal.
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) April 10, 2020
