Border police officers display some of the iPhones found aboard a fishing boat travelling from Hong Kong to Shenzhen. Photo: SCMP
Source:
https://scmp.com/news/china/society/article/1985166/fishy-business-chinese-fishermen-caught-smuggling-iphones-hidden China
Fishy business: Chinese fishermen caught smuggling iPhones hidden under catch
Border force officers uncover iPhones hidden beneath the day’s catch. Photo: SCMP
A group of fishermen in southern China has been caught smuggling smartphones from Hong Kong to Shenzhen hidden in fish buckets, mainland media reports.
Police in Shenzhen Bay stopped a speed boat travelling towards a port in Shenzhen and confiscated 370 iPhone 6 and 6 plus units worth 2 million yuan (HK$2.3 million), China News Agency reported on Sunday.
The border force officers spotted something fishy about the three fishermen, who appeared to be nervous, during a regular patrol in the early hours of Wednesday.
The 370 smartphones were found wrapped in plastic bags underneath the day’s catch of fish in the buckets.
The crew members were quoted in the report as saying they were approached by an unknown man who promised to pay them 1,000 yuan (HK$1,168) to smuggle iPhones from Hong Kong to the mainland, and they were not aware of the serious consequences.
The police are investigating the case.