Louis Vuitton, Omega and some other luxury brands now cost less in Europe than in HongKong or Macao, two other popular Chinese destinations for shopping trips, Li said.
Li's co-conspirator smuggled the rhino horns in porcelain vases and mailed them to HongKong and China to a person otherthan Li to evade detection by U.S. officials.
Beyond that, he has little more to rely on otherthan tunnel fees and duties on the bets punters put on horse racing, a passionate activity in HongKong but one steadily moving to the taxless havens of the Internet.