Smoke grenades, live animals and fresh meat are among the heavily regulated items readily available on mainland Chinese e-commerce sites for delivery to Hong Kong despite an official crackdown, the Post has found.
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Listings on Taobao and Pinduoduo have been subject to increased scrutiny following the arrest last month of a 13-year-old Hongkonger who allegedly bought smoke grenades online.
Sources earlier said that the boy had bought the three smoke grenades for HK$92 (US$11.70) on Pinduoduo on July 10 and retrieved them from a pickup point in the city.
He was suspected of removing the safety pin on one of the items inside his flat, leading to smoke filling the building, which had to be evacuated.
Police arrested him on July 18 on suspicion of possessing explosives.
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Almost a month later, a check by the Post showed that “prank” smoke grenades, which looked genuine and released smoke, remained readily available for purchase on Taobao for about HK$40.