Semiconductors have become as lucrative a market as drugs. In any case, this is what a recent incredible story told by Bloomberg suggests. At the airport in Macao, an administrative region of China which enjoys a strong autonomy, a woman was arrested for trafficking in processors.
Contraband all over the place
Questioned by Chinese customs, the suspect had claimed to be five or six months pregnant, despite a belly that suggested more of an end of pregnancy. Under a belly prosthesis were actually hiding 202 Intel processors, as well as several iPhones taped to the (real) belly. Around €100,000 of equipment was thus discovered by the customs authorities.
This is not the first time that the country’s police have undermined such smuggling. In March 2022, a man attempted to smuggle 160 processors and 16 folding phones before being arrested. In 2021, the Hong Kong authorities got their hands on a truck full of thousands of RAM sticks, processors, as well as hundreds of smartphones.
China starved by US sanctions
Beyond the news item, these stories show how much China is paralyzed by the shortage of semiconductors and the sanctions applied by the United States. The very limited supply and extremely high demand has created an ideal market for smuggling, as even years old CPUs can sell for up to 500 times their original price.
According to the Biden administration, the United States embargo aims to prevent national technologies from being used for military purposes or to establish Chinese dominance in artificial intelligence.