Authorities offering rewards for smuggling and stowaway tips

Major cities in Guangdong province, known as the southern gateway of the country, are offering significant financial rewards for tips that help crack down on smuggling and illegal border crossing.

The rewards for the capture of smugglers and stowaways from outside the mainland are being offered after four of 15 people who illegally entered into Guangdong from the Hong Kong special administrative region have been detected to be positive for novel coronavirus, according to a local media on Thursday.

The COVID-positive stowaways include two people detected in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province, and two in central China's Hunan province.

An investigation revealed that all of the stowaways first entered into Guangdong cities before they travelled to Hunan and Fujian provinces, media said.

All passengers who enter into Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong and Macao, from its exit and entry ports are required to be out under quarantine for two weeks and another seven days in home quarantines as of January 26.

In Chenzhou city, Hunan province, local police have put two stowaways, surnamed Xiao and Deng, under control and placed their cases on files for further investigation after the pair were detected to be positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, according to a statement released by Chenzhou Bureau of Public Security.

Xiao and Deng illegally entered into the Doumen district of Zhuhai from Hong Kong on the early morning on Monday, then drove back to Chenzhou in a vehicle they had prepared in advance in Doumen. They used other mobile phones to shun health code inspection, the statement said.

Xiao and Deng were detained for further investigation on suspicion of obstructing the prevention and control of infectious diseases, it said.

Daya Bay Economic and Technological Development in the port city of Huizhou is offering a reward up to 500,000 yuan (about $77,000) for tips on the capture of smugglers and stowaways while the city of Zhuhai has paid its first reward valued at 100,000 yuan to locals who tipped off the relevant department on cracking down on illegal border crossing.

Meanwhile the cities of Zhongshan, Dongguan, Jiangmen and Shanwei are also offering rewards for similar tips.

According to a statement released by Guangdong Health Commission, Guangdong reported new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, all detected in the Shenzhen special economic zone bordering Hong Kong, and another local confirmed case in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

The cities of Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Zhuhai have all reported that the imported cases came from Hong Kong during this round of outbreak, the statement said.