Serious smuggling cases rise sharply

The number of smuggling cases declined last year but there was an increase in the number of serious cases, a senior Customs official has warned.

Customs across the country uncovered 19 serious cases last year - each involving at least 100 million yuan ($13.2 million) worth of products - compared with 13 such cases in 2005, Xia Shouda, deputy director of the anti-smuggling bureau of the General Administration of Customs, said.

He said the 19 cases - out of last year's total 7,240 smuggling cases - involved 9.35 billion yuan ($1.24 billion), accounting for about 70 percent of the total value of products in all cases.