Qingdao customs seizes 1,600 smuggled luxury cars

QINGDAO - Chinese customs seized more than 1,600 smuggled cars worth more than 1.06 billion yuan ($166.8 million), the customs office of coastal Qingdao city in East China's Shandong province announced on Thursday.

Seven suspects were caught smuggling luxury cars, including models from Land Rover, Bentley, and Porsche, according to Qingdao customs.

According to Qingdao customs, suspects from two car dealer companies in Qingdao had been purchasing high-end vehicles from Europe and misrepresenting the price on import contracts and invoices during customs declaration to avoid paying tariffs, the customs said.

The smugglers caught the attention of local customs at the end of 2017. The two leaders were caught in Qingdao on April 9.

The case is under further investigation.