Shenzhen: Seven men were captured while smuggling
electronic products through a 20-metre-long tunnel from Hong Kong to
neighbouring Shenzhen.
The
tunnel dug by the smugglers from Shenzhen to the Hong Kong
side. [Information Times] |
The men had to crawl through a tunnel just 67 cm wide and through a sewage
pipe to get the goods across the border.
It is the first time police have uncovered a smuggling case in the southern
city that involved a tunnel, said Song Min, deputy director of the
anti-smuggling division of Shenzhen Customs, in a press conference yesterday.
After a one-month investigation, the anti-smuggling force took action on
August 25, capturing a gang leader, a truck driver, and five men working in the
tunnel.
About 900 mobile phones and 120,000 electronic chips, worth roughly 1.6
million yuan (US$200,000), were seized in the raid. This involved some 270,000
yuan (US$33,750) in unpaid taxes, Song said.
Another leading suspect is still at large. Two Hong Kong residents, including
the owner of the goods and a man who delivered them, were being sought.
"We have reported the case to the Hong Kong customs and police. We think the
Hong Kong suspects will be punished," Song said.
According to the customs, the gang rented a single-room apartment, with an
area of about 15 square metres, last month in Shatoujiao, which is just a few
metres away from the border.
Shenzhen and Hong Kong are divided by a river, but they meet in Shatoujiao.
The smugglers dug down from the floor for about one metre, and then tunnelled
towards the Hong Kong side. They linked up with a sewage pipe that runs across
the border.
A truck parked just outside the Shenzhen apartment received the smuggled
products through a side door. The whole smuggling operation would take no longer
than 3 minutes.
"The suspects confessed that they spent nearly 20 days digging the tunnel and
used it three times," Song told reporters.
He estimated the gang could have smuggled about 500 to
600 million yuan (US$62.5 to US$75 million) worth products a year through the
tunnel if they had not been stopped.
