SHENZHEN Customs recently busted a smuggling ring that illegally transported undeclared goods out of the Futian Free Trade Zone through a hole in the fence of the zone.

A total of 26 ring members were arrested and nine vehicles confiscated during an action April 12, the Daily Sunshine reported Saturday. The smuggling ring, led by a man only identified by his last name Cheng, was accused of smuggling 4,726 computer hard drives, worth more than 1.6 million yuan (US$228,571), out of the free trade zone through a hole in the steel fence surrounding the trade zone.

The anti-smuggling division of Shenzhen Customs received a tip in early April that Cheng and his smuggling ring had cut a big hole in the fence and were using it to transport computer parts out of the area.

Following two weeks of investigation, customs officers found out that Cheng ran a car wash at a public bus terminal bordering the Futian Free Trade Zone.

A search of the bus terminal uncovered a big hole in the steel fence of the free trade zone. The hole, which was covered up with leaves and branches during the day, was used to smuggle undeclared computer parts out of the zone. The goods were quickly loaded into trucks waiting at the bus terminal.

The anti-smuggling division launched an action in the small hours of April 12, and caught 26 people engaged in the illegal activity. According to customs officers, 13 of them would be prosecuted on criminal charges due to the large sum of money involved.

(Wei Jie)