Liu Xin, Zhou Guanghua
BEIJING, Sept. 26 -- Recently, China Coast Guard (CCG) successfully cracked a major cigarette smuggle crime with relevant departments of customs and tobacco sectors. One smuggling ship and seven suspects were seized, and the cigarettes ferreted out covered 24 different kinds with 400,000 cartons in number and 170 million RMB in value, making it the biggest cigarette smuggling case in the waters off China's Hainan Province in recent years.
In late April this year, according to the clues obtained in the earlier stage, the CCG had a ship suspected of being freighted with masses of smuggled cigarettes under surveillance in the waters off Wenchang City, Hainan Province. They ferreted out a great deal of smuggled cigarettes when getting on board with other law enforcement officials.
The CCG conducted interrogation on the criminal suspects, and coordinated with procuratorate, customs and tobacco departments to investigate the criminal groups behind the suspects. They also worked together to dispatch officials for more evidence collection in other provinces such as Fujian, Liaoning and Shandong.
At present, this case had been handed over to the procuratorial organ.
