Smugglers used drones to transport smartphones from Hong Kong

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China’s Customs captured a group of cross-border smugglers using drones as part of their illegal efforts to transport smartphones worth over 500 million yuan (80 million US dollars) from Hong Kong to Shenzhen.

Shenzhen's authority arrested 26 suspects for using drones to set up cables between Shenzhen and Hong Kong to smuggle both refurbished and new smartphones to the Chinese mainland, Legal Evening News reported on Friday.

Smugglers used a drone to illegally transport smartphones. /Photo via Weibo

According to the Shenzhen Customs, this is the first case in China that drones were used as tools for smuggling.

The investigation showed that suspects rented two high-rise apartments in Shenzhen near the border with Hong Kong and tools used for smuggling were found in the apartment rooms, including drones, cables, pulleys and electric capstans.

The suspects usually operated around midnight and they set up two 200-meter cables between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, which allowed a small bag carrying around 20 smartphones each time to be moved in seconds. In only one night, smugglers can transport around 15,000 smartphones across the border.

Cables and electric capstans were found in the suspects' room. /Photo via Weibo

According to the local authority, these smuggling smartphones are usually refurbished and are sold at relatively low prices in the market, with each one making a profit of around 20 to 30 yuan. However, a new smartphone could earn up to 100 yuan. The smugglers had earned approximately 500 million yuan.

Last year, according to Xinhua News Agency, the General Administration of Customs in China busted 3,260 smuggling cases, with a year-on-year increase of 24.2 percent.