Customs officials in Macau intercepted a shipment containing two Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 graphics cards, identified as Asus ROG Astral models. The seizure occurred as part of a broader crackdown on smuggling activities conducted between September 11 and September 17.
The total value of all confiscated goods across 12 separate incidents reached approximately $187 000. In addition to the high-end graphics cards, authorities seized thousands of cigarette packs, 75 000 electronic cigarettes, and 359 pairs of headphones.
The smuggling of these specific GPUs is linked to regional import restrictions. While the standard RTX 5090 is not officially available in China, the market offers a modified version known as the RTX 5090D, which features reduced memory capacity compared to the flagship model.
