According to Guangzhou Customs, 25 suspected smugglers seized in Yunnan province were escorted to Guangzhou in a private plane, a new procedure in arrest practice.

The operation was commanded by the Central Administration of Customs and customs offices of different cities including those of Guangzhou, Huangpu and Kunming. They cooperated with each other and unearthed smuggled articles worth more than 200 million yuan ($296,732).

The smugglers made use of hidden openings in trans-customs transportation and in Sino-Burmese border areas to smuggle automobiles, LCDs (liquid crystal displays), auto spare parts and second-hand computers.

The investigation revealed that suspected surnamed Zhu, Zhang, Ye and Wei consolidated the items in Hong Kong and shipped them to the port of Yunnan province by declaring customs transit at other ports.

After finishing transit formalities, the smuggling gang put the cargo in the Sino-Burmese border area. From there they were smuggled to China and transported to Guangzhou via domestic means.

This case has distinct cross-regional smuggling characteristics in that many areas, hidden means and complicated relations were involved.

A group of smuggling suspects is escorted to Guangzhou [Photo/ Legal Daily Website]

Suspected smugglers lined up at the airport. [Photo/Legal Daily Website]