Chinese officials raid gang smuggling 108 Vietnamese over border to work as cheap factory labourers

Mainland public security raided a human smuggling ring run by nine Chinese organisers as they were transferring 108 Vietnamese illegal immigrants to Guangdong factories to act as cheap labourers.

A report by China Youth Daily revealed that Guangxi police received a tip-off on February 29 that a Vietnamese woman had been planning to smuggle a large group of illegal immigrants across the border in Guangxi province to work in Guangdong and Fujian factories on March 2.

The report said the smuggling gang had received commissions from factories looking for cheap labourers.

Once an order for workers had been placed, the smugglers would then contact other people transporting illegal immigrants and running a transit warehouse where labourers stayed after crossing the Guangxi border.

In order to work in China, each illegal immigrant had to pay a handling and transportation fee of between 600 yuan and 1,000 yuan to the smugglers, who then arranged transport and acted as lookouts at highway toll areas and petrol stations, the report said.

One suspected Chinese smuggler was paid 2,850 yuan to drive a van of 29 Vietnamese people to a transit warehouse in Jiangzhou township in the city of Chongzuo city in Guangxi, the report said.