A high school student was detained by Shenzhen Customs on border with Hong Kong for smuggling 25 iPhones, the Guangzhou Daily reported today.

The girl surnamed Hu allegedly said she was paid 200 yuan (US$32) to carry the 25 handsets, strapped to her body, through the customs. It was not her first smuggling act, customs officials said.

The 25 iPhones are worth more than 80,000 yuan, a sum large enough to invoke criminal charges against the 19-year-old student, they said.

Shenzhen Customs said Hu entered Shenzhen through the immigration checkpoint on Chung Ying Street around 8pm, March 13. She was wearing a school uniform and looked no different from a normal student.

However, customs officials noticed that she always kept her head down and was very quiet, unlike other students who chatted with each other.

They stopped her for a close check and uncovered 25 iPhones -- 21 bound to her waist with adhesive tapes and four were strapped to her legs.

Hu said a professional smuggler paid her 200 yuan to carry these phones across the customs and she thought it was no big deal, unaware that she might be imprisoned for smuggling.

According to the customs, more and more students have been hired by smugglers as "mules" as many students have no idea about the consequence.

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