GUANGZHOU, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Zhanjiang Customs in south China's Guangdong Province Tuesday arrested 14 suspects and seized 7,300 cartons of smuggled cigarettes, involving about 200 million yuan (about 28.2 million U.S. dollars).
The volume of tax evasion amounted to 120 million yuan, the customs said.
More than 100 law enforcement officers, grouped into 19 task forces, raided five smuggling rings and arrested the suspects in Zhanjiang, Zhuhai and Dongguan, as well as Nanning in the bordering Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
A preliminary investigation showed that the gangs had been smuggling cigarettes via the China-Vietnam border before transferring them to other places using illegally modified vehicles, according to the customs.
Further investigation is underway.
