Police break up smuggling operation that used drone to send US$75,000 of goods to mainland
- Gadgets, high-end cosmetics and nutritional supplements worth more than 500,000 yuan were confiscated
- Using a zip line and drone made smuggling easy and efficient, police say
China’s paramilitary police have smashed a cross-border smuggling operation that used a drone and a zip line to send goods worth half a million yuan (US$74,566) between Hong Kong and the mainland, state media reported.
People’s Armed Police officers at the Liantang-Heung Yuen Wai Border Control Point between the northeastern New Territories and Shenzhen saw a drone flying on the Hong Kong side of the border early on Tuesday morning, leading them to step up surveillance at the crossing the next day, Dragon TV reported.
On Wednesday, when the officers saw a drone land on the roof of a residential building in Shenzhen’s Luofang village just after 2am, they stormed the building, detaining three people, according to the report.
Nine bags of goods were found in a car downstairs and a 10th on the roof. Gadgets, high-end cosmetics and nutritional supplements worth more than 500,000 yuan were confiscated, the provincial satellite TV station reported.
The residential area was across the road from the Shenzhen River, which is five metres (16ft) wide, and next to a large construction site, the report said. The building faced Hong Kong and provided a good view for monitoring police patrols, according to the report.
The accused smugglers used the drone to monitor border patrols before setting up the zip line between two buildings, Dragon TV said.