A total of 372 cases were cracked during the campaign between September and October.

The haul included more than 2,700 tons of industrial oil, 500 tons of edible oil, 6 million CD-ROMs and VCDs, and seven hovercraft for smuggling.

Customs chiefs also impounded two cars, 17 complete sets of auto parts and plenty of old vehicle tyres, electronic products, cigarettes and wine.

"The marine campaign has dealt a heavy blow to active smuggling in waters off Guangdong," said an official from Guangdong Customs yesterday.

The campaign aimed to ensure good social order for the 16th National Congress of the Communist Party of China that ended in Beijing last week. It attracted more than 1,300 customs vessels patrolling more than 85,000 sea miles in the southern Chinese region.

And more than 2,500 boats from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao were inspected, the official said.

Gongbei Customs officers seized eight foreign car engines, eight rears of vehicles, 32 tyres and 120 vehicle lights from a boat off the coast of Zhuhai on September 6.

Two Hong Kong residents on the boat were detained for questioning, pending further investigations.

On October 1, Zhanjiang Customs in western Guangdong seized a sedan car and a jeep on two high-speed hovercraft in its waters. The value of the vehicles was estimated at more than 1.6 million yuan (US$192,771.1).

It was the biggest marine smuggling case cracked by Zhanjiang Customs this year.

Shantou Customs also seized more than 500,000 CD-ROMs and VCDs from a vessel on October 20.

Guangdong Customs has vowed to continue its efforts to increase patrols and fight smuggling in the years to come.

And more new advanced equipment, weapons and technologies will be introduced to increase the effectiveness of anti-smuggling efforts.

(China Daily November 20, 2002)