Shenzhen Customs in south China's Guangdong Province, an important bulwark of the country's anti-smuggling efforts, has confiscated 200 million yuan worth of smuggled goods since the start of this year.

Among the smuggled goods were 14 million tons of refined oil, 10 million pirated compact and pornographic discs, and motor boats.

Shenzhen, adjacent to Hong Kong, is coveted by smugglers from the inland and abroad as an ideal place for trafficking their goods.

On October 2, customs police foiled a wine smuggling scheme. There were 25,000 bottles of wine on board a towboat worth 1.9 million yuan, which had been shipped from Hong Kong for sale in the inland. If the smuggling attempt had been successful, the culprits would have evaded 1.05 million yuan in taxes.

So far, customs is employing over 200 police utilizing a 400- ton guard vessel, two 200-ton vessels and 10 motor boats, and they are stepping up cooperation with police in Hong Kong in their fight against smugglers. (Xinhua)