China investigates nearly 2,000 smuggling cases in H1

BEIJING - Chinese customs authorities have investigated a total of 1,988 smuggling cases in the first half of this year, Xinhua-run Economic Information Daily reported Thursday.

The number marked an 8.9-percent increase from the same period last year, and nearly 3,000 suspects have been put under coercive measures.

In the January-June period, law enforcement agencies have investigated 276 smuggling cases related to foreign waste and seized nearly 1 million tonnes of the cargo, 157 percent more than that of the same period last year.

The Chinese government decided last year to phase out and completely halt imports of foreign waste by the end of 2019, except for those containing resources that are not substitutable.

Chinese customs have also taken a tough approach on the trafficking of endangered species and related products, with some 614 kg of ivory products seized in the first half of the year, the report said.

Meanwhile, authorities have investigated 186 criminal cases including smuggling farm products, involving a total value of 8.1 billion yuan (about 1.2 billion U.S. dollars). Some 65,600 tonnes of smuggled rice was intercepted in the first half of 2018.