Alleged Chinese smuggler redefines "wearable tech"

BEIJING -- A Hong Kong man was caught with 94 iPhone handsets taped all over his body by customs agents at a checkpoint in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen on Sunday.

Bordering Hong Kong, where goods generally cost less than mainland China, Shenzhen has become a hotspot for smuggling.

The man drew the suspicion of customs officials with his stiff body movements and what they say was an uncomfortable look on his face. Then he set off a metal detector.

Customs officials found the 94 iPhones (iPhone 5s and the new iPhone 6 model), worth about $48,400 taped to his arms legs and torso.

While Chinese customs agents are quite familiar with the smugglers' practice of taping iPhones and other hot commodities to their bodies, the sheer quantity on this man's corpus appeared to set a record.

In 2013, a Hong Kong man was caught with 66 iPhones taped onto his body.

Apple products are hugely popular in China, but they cost significantly more due to heavy taxes levied by the central government. A 16GB unlocked iPhone 6 costs $852 in mainland China, but only $720 in Hong Kong.

The price difference has given birth to a whole new profession in China, known to locals as "dai gou," or "shopping agents."

Such people go to retail outlets in Hong Kong and purchase items according to client orders -- everything from cosmetics to baby formula to Apple gadgets -- and then they carry them across the border, usually to Shenzhen due to proximity, to avoid taxes.

Dai gou customers are generally charged a set fee for the illegal service.

In 2013, customs authorities estimated that 95 percent of travelers who crossed the Hong Kong border multiple times per day were smugglers.