Guangdong police break up smuggling, illegal border crossings

Police across Guangdong province have detained 571 smuggling suspects and 279 stowaways in 328 cases involving illegal border crossings and smuggling since the beginning of the year, a senior police officer said.

Meanwhile, police investigated and seized 130 vessels suspected of smuggling, more than 2,100 metric tons of frozen products, 58 million cigarettes and other products, said Liu Guoqiang, director of the exit-entry administration bureau of Guangdong's Public Security Department on Friday.

The Guangdong police advanced cooperation with their Hong Kong counterparts and expanded patrols in nearby waters to fight illegal border crossings and smuggling around the Chinese New Year in late January and early February, Liu said at a news conference on Friday.

Despite the achievement, Liu said, police would continue to intensify efforts to fight those crimes in the months to come, as the number of cases has risen year-on-year. He hinted that more joint actions will continue to be launched with Hong Kong.