Police crack down on smuggling via Pearl River

Guangdong police, in cooperation with their counterparts from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, have taken 353 suspected maritime smugglers into custody after cracking down on 55 major smuggling operations organized by gangs on the Pearl River during a weeklong campaign to fight maritime smuggling.

Zhang Rui, deputy director general of Guangdong Department of Public Security, said more than 860 illegal refitted high-speed vessels used for smuggling were observed during the campaign, which took place between Oct 1 and 7.

A total of 49 illegal shipyards engaged in refitting high-speed smuggling vessels and 62 illegal cold storage and trading venues were investigated, and a number of imported engines, vehicles, frozen products, oils and various other contraband were seized during the campaign, Zhang said at a news conference in Guangzhou on Monday.

Police from Guangzhou, in collaboration with officers in Yangjiang, detained two suspected key gang members, both surnamed Deng and native of Guangzhou, on Oct 1 and 2.

The two men, aged 31 and 35, are suspected of operating a illegal high-speed vessel to hit a marine police ship in Hong Kong waters, causing the death of a female Hong Kong police officer and injuring three others on Sept 25.

The crackdown, which was supported by 77 police ships, four helicopters and more than 900 officers from both Guangdong and Hong Kong, delivered a heavy blow to maritime smugglers who had been active in southern China, Zhang said.

The operation, he said, "achieved its expected results, and rampant cross-border maritime smuggling has been brought under control".

Zhang added that the police would not relax their vigilance in the months to come, despite the achievement. He suggested that more campaigns would be launched in the coming months.