Guangdong police break up smuggling, illegal border crossings

The move aims to ensure safe waters at the mouth of the Pearl River and good security for people in the province's coastal areas to better serve Guangdong's high-quality development.

Authorities said Guangdong's long coastline has been one of the main battlefields in the country's fight against illegal border crossings and smuggling.

In Zhanjiang, a coastal city in western Guangdong, police detained six suspected human traffickers and 16 stowaways after busting a gang in operations from Jan 13 to 15. The gang had been active in organizing mainland people to illegally cross the border to engage in telephone fraud, gambling and related illegal activities. The stowaways detained include 10 who had once been involved in telephone frauds abroad, the police said.

Police from Huizhou also detained two suspected human traffickers and 42 illegal crossers, plus six individual bosses and house lessors who illegally assisted in illegal crossings.

Rewards valued at 1.14 million yuan ($172,700) were awarded to six local residents who tipped off police.