Here's a story to make any tea-drinking Englishman go red in the face. Officials at Liantang Port, Guangdong, have intercepted a passenger attempting to smuggle 350 Nintendo Switch cartridges through Chinese customs. Her method? Packing them into her bra. Oh my (thanks, Tom's Hardware).
Wipe up the mouthful of Earl Grey we're sure you've just spat across the room, it's time for the details.
According to a customs release obtained by Hong Kong News (and translated via Google), the woman apparently "looked nervous and behaved abnormally" as she attempted to pass the airport's checks, leading to the officials pulling her aside for further questioning.
The 350 Switch cartridges that were found... about her person *ahem* were estimated to be worth a whopping 70,000 yuan (around £7,600 / $9,600, if you were wondering).
As is the case for most nations, bringing any undeclared goods through customs is a big no-no and is considered smuggling. According to China's General Administration of Customs, assuming the cartridges are not considered prohibited items, the officials will confiscate them and may "impose a fine of not more than three times the amount of duties payable but evaded". Yikes.
This isn't the first time that we have seen Nintendo goods plucked away at customs — even if the smuggling method is a new one. 7.6 tons of fake Pokémon cards were seized in 2021 before they could make their way into Europe, and 2020 saw 86,000 counterfeit Pokémon figurines land the same fate.
What do you make of this latest smuggling scandal? Let us know in the comments.
[source hk01.com, via tomshardware.com]
Comments 78
Masterful sub-headline
yknow when I logged on this morning to keep abreast of the news, this wasn't exactly what I had in mind
Good.
Send her to the prison for her crime.
I only came here to also compliment the great pun on the deck. Wonderful work. 👏👏👏
Must have been a pretty huge bra, with watermelon size cups.
Just how big was that bra for them all to fit? Switch cardridges are really small I know but 350 of them. And shouldn't there be something else in the bra as well? ...I'd better stop asking questions.
How big was that bra !!!
64 DD ?
@hypnotoad Brilliant
@FlyingDunsparce I agree. I'm curious myself. I think we should get a hold of customs and request the evidence for investigative purposes.
I feel like visual aid is needed for proper measurements.
Contraband of Nintendo game cartridges ... can it be any more sad than this.
I always forget how lucky we are here in Europe.
Maybe she didn't want to check her games and kept them on-breast for easy game swapping during her flight?
@Spider-Kev I thought stashing game cartridges in your underwear was commonplace.
😂 Wow. My first laugh of the day, haha.
@DripDropCop146 : It's only legal to stash physical copies of Panty Party in one's undies (and yes, that is a real game with a real physical release).
She made a boob of herself and caused the situation to go tits up because she neglected to declare the goodies.
Mammary puns are by far the breast puns.
Here's some kind of photo
https://www.golem.de/news/nintendo-switch-frau-wollte-in-ihrem-bh-350-spiele-nach-china-schmuggeln-2406-186112.html
"If only Nintendo weren't so anti-consumer, that poor woman wouldn't have to resort to such desperate measures etc etc etc...damn you Nintendo!"
Turned up too late to get any puns in!
Nintendo needs to release much more games in China. Take a look at Nintendo’s China website and it looks like Nintendo’s Switch release up to around 2018.
Isn't 350 quite impressive? And what game?
...and most importantly, why?
@Don Curious as to how much of that is to do with China itself, I imagine there's all sorts of red tape involved in releasing games over there.
@WiltonRoots It's most likely because China bans most games. Not really because of Nintendo.
@Don that has to do with the Chinese government
@hypnotoad Oh dear, well well done 👏 😄
The direct must be imminent for this to be newsworthy as everything goes quiet before a direct.....
Love the jokes in the deck and in the comments!
Jokes aside, I'm also quite curious as to how she managed to pack so many cartridges into her bra and what games she tried to smuggle.
Yeah she was clearly trying to avoid paying customs and taxes. You'd be stopped anywhere by not declaring that like 350 isn't for personal use.
Well that went tits up.
Yeah, yeah, bUT WHAT GAMES? I need to know if it was worth the embarrassment or not!
(jk peeps. Judging by the numbers it probably wasn't for herself. Maybe reselling?)
Is this some kind of bust?
Lt. Frank Drebin : Well... it's very impressive, yes, but we need to ask you a few questions
Something for the fans of Police Squad! there
Well, the Switch is known for having some of the breast games in any series. TT Year Door indeed.
Glad to hear those carts were rescued from a booby trap.
@sanderev Yeah figured as much...can't imagine it's easy to get anything released over there.
In her bra? Such a school boy (girl) error. She sould have come to see me, id have told her the real way to smuggle switch carts. Its like a lucky dip, never know which ones coming out next.
DISCLAIMER
You will still be finding them a week later and many pairs of gloves will be needed.
One thing's for certain: it was a huge bust.
Smuggling switch titles…. Real hardcore stuff.
@Anti-Matter It's a crime for sure, but prison? Sounds a bit harsh if you ask me. A fine is more than enough.
Sounds like a good attempt. Bra-vo, I say!
Who needs a Nintendo Direct when we have news like this? 😂
In too late on account this went up before my morning alarm. Y'all already used all the puns I can think of.
My guess is many of these were unapproved games; as some have mentioned already, China really restricts what Switch games are legally available in the country. As a woman, I can only imagine how uncomfortable this method of smuggling must be.
@Tyranexx You're quite right... all those Switch carts would make snuggling very uncomfortable indeed. She was probably more focused on the crime at hand, though.
Sorry... couldn't resist! 😆
@Ooyah BWAHAHA! Autocorrect trolled me again! Edited the last post. Snuggling would be very difficult too I'd think.
I came here for the puns, was not dissapointed.👌
love the headline
Did she really think they wouldn't notice her jagged breasts??
350 carts in one bra....was it Lady Dimitrescu?
350 games, CIB (complete in bra)!
@OldManHermit like to see her try that with Neo Geo cartridges...
@Tyranexx They're not legally restricted per se, rather most publishers simply don't bother publishing their games in China. However many cards do have Simplified Chinese localization and are hot items for imports. Furthermore the official Chinese eshop is ran by Tencent does a terrible job of releasing titles, and most of the Switch players there simply go hack their systems to play the games they want.
@MeloMan
Aliasing strikes again!
So, if these are going to be sold, are they going to be standard price, or cheaper/more expensive because of boob sweat?
Remember, people now sell bath water and toe nails...
@KorGonia
The only duplicates are Smash and Kart, she brought extras for multi-player fun.
That won't be the only multi-player fun she/her friends/cell-mates have...
@Teksetter
No, just the cartridges.
Some had something that looked like those SD card protectors/cases.
@hypnotoad THAT'S the comment I was looking for. Well played!
@hypnotoad 64DD, nice. I imagine her figure would have looked suspiciously polygonal.
I know the type of game doesn't matter, that they were simply bypassing customs which you can't do. But for maximal self-amusement, I'm gonna tell myself they were games banned for their dystopian premises by their dystopian government.
@Teksetter That is an unbralievably great comment!
"Assuming the cartridges are not considered prohibited items..."
That's quite a large assumption considering it's China.
The Nintendo Switch generation truly has left us with some great gaming mammaries...
(I'll see myself out.)
@KoopaTheGamer it's like you said, it's a crime.
Can't do the time, don't do the crime.
I wonder if she has a boyfriend/husband that has the balls to carry the games for her.
@PKDuckman Interesting. I suspect the lack of meaningful publishing might have to do with China's somewhat lax copyright laws? And conversely, the censorship and approval process? Though as you mentioned, I am indeed under the impression it's pretty easy for someone there to hack their system or import items with few serious repercussions (if any).
I admit I have no experience with China other than what I read in the news, which will likely have some type of bias (as news is written by humans). Still, this makes me wonder what sort of games this lady was trying to smuggle in if they weren't declared to customs. Most likely to avoid fees or confiscation.
@Ooyah
Thanks, bra!
I can't help but wonder, though...
Did she have Undertale in her undergarment?
Ooblets in her bralette?
Or Falconeer in her brassier?
If it were me and my bra, I'd say take Killer Queen Black for the confidence to play it cool through customs!
@WiltonRoots
At the time point of your comment, I think you still could've gotten away with a pin about her "bouncing back or rack-ing up a major debt. "
"Busted" 💀💀💀🤣
there is no way lol
@Teksetter It's all speculation, as, in the end, she BRAvely Defaulted.
Removed - unconstructive
@WiltonRoots,
Hope she does not get communi -titty service
Never too late....
@Anti-Matter,
Prison.... souds a bit hard, surely it's only a minor smuggling issue, let's hope she does not get convicted of receiving swollen goods.
@johnvboy It's like a Carry On film in here...lol
@Tyranexx I'm pretty sure this woman simply don't want to pay import charges, as 350 Switch cards would net her a decent sum in online marketplaces like Taobao.
It's worth noting that up until the PS4/XB1, most consoles were never officially released there. This is mostly due to the fact that China has a very protectionist economic policy, and for foreign game publishers to officially release games there, they have to partner up with a domestic company. For instance, World of Warcraft was published by Netease in China, Nintendo released the N64 and their portable consoles under the iQue brand previously, and Tencent publishes the Switch there.
However this model results in extreme delays and many popular games were not released there. As such most gamers gravitate to PC where it's extremely easy to pirate but also install translation patches. By today however there is a sizable number of console gamers, and the Switch is quite popular there due to its portability factor, and many games come with official simplified Chinese translations. But just one look at the Chinese eshop explains why most Chinese gamers would rather import their games or mod their systems:
https://www.nintendoswitch.com.cn/software
Their website still lists Breath of the Wild, Immortals, Pokemon Let's Go, and Pokemon Snap as "coming soon", while Kirby Star Allies only came out there last month due to the slow approval process which often gets caught up in bureaucracy.
Came for the puns. Comment section did not disappoint. Thank you all for the good laughs.
Well hilarious puns or not, this woman did commit crime. So she's gonna have to be punished for it.
@PKDuckman Looking at that website, I love the idea that China got Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training for Nintendo Switch while in america they couldn't even bother to acknowledge it. It means China got the offical Switch stylus and America didn't.
I also love how they got Yo-kai Watch 4 at the same time there's no word for a western release.
@PKDuckman It seems like my speculation was somewhat on target, but not totally. I'd completely forgotten about the iQue brand existing despite reading a few related articles some time ago. I was very on target regarding localization it seems; there's a lot of red tape involved regarding approval and localization. I can't blame those with computer know-how to go the extra mile to ensure they can play something that may or may not be available in an official capacity before they reach retirement age.
My memory is foggy, but I used to follow WoW news ages ago when I played. I do recall the NetEase partnership Blizzard entered into and think I also recall they really had to censor some content for the Chinese market. Particularly when it pertained to playable Forsaken characters and portrayals involving exposed bones for cultural reasons. I'm sure that was difficult with Wrath of the Lich King content.
That sounds so uncomfortable, actually scratch that, it sounds painful. Ain't no way. I don't love anything enough to subject myself to that.
@WiltonRoots,
oooh! matron!....
@johnvboy huhahaha! (in the style of Sid James....)
@WiltonRoots,
You can't beat the classic line....
"I was once a weak man, and once a week is enough for any man"
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