Hangzhou Customs announced on May 13 that it has cracked a case involving smuggled plastic waste worth 334 million yuan ($54.3 million), in Shaoxing of East China's Zhejiang province, China News Service reported.

It is the largest solid-waste smuggling case discovered by Hangzhou Customs.

An international trade service company registered in Ningbo had imported 73,000 tons of plastic waste by illegally obtaining solid-waste import licenses from 122 companies from 2005 to 2007. The company then sold the waste to 93 companies that did not have licenses to import solid waste, officials said.

China has strict regulations covering the importation of solid waste. According to Criminal Law, smuggling solid waste is punishable by up to five years in prison, but more than five years for serious offenses.

The Shaoxing People's Intermediate Court heard the case on Monday. The verdict has not been announced.