Cowhide leather smuggling gangs busted, 17 suspects nabbed

GUANGZHOU -- Customs authorities have busted four smuggling gangs across several provinces in south and east China and captured 17 suspects, with 329.96 tonnes of cowhide leather seized.

The Huangpu customs in south China's Guangdong province, assisted by its counterparts and local public security departments in Zhejiang and Fujian, mobilized 319 police and customs officers for this specialized mission on July 16 in multiple cities, including Dongguan, Guangzhou, Wenzhou, Xiamen, and Quanzhou.

The value of the cowhide leather seized was estimated at 500 million yuan (about $72 million), the customs said.

Preliminary investigations showed that the gangs, after purchasing the goods abroad or contracting overseas purchases with domestic clients, smuggled the cowhide leather, which should have been imported through general trade, into the country through processing trade, or under-valued the goods by using false invoices.

The case is under further investigation.