BEIJING: Chinese customs authorities said on Thursday that 23 people had been detained after an undercover operation to bust a multibillion yuan coal-smuggling operation that shipped 5 billion yuan worth (US$784 million) of the fuel from Vietnam.
The detainees were allegedly part of a network that involved 150 people and 20 companies.
They smuggled about 5.61 million tonnes of coal into China from 2013, avoiding 491 million yuan in taxes.
The General Administration of Customs said its agents in Haikou, Hainan province, launched their investigation after they discovered earlier this year that the amount of coal transported to Hainan, Guangdong, and Zhejiang provinces via the border city of Fangchenggang in Guangxi was much more than that declared.
In a joint operation, police from various provinces arrested the suspects on September 23 in Guangxi, Guangdong and Hainan.
It is the largest smuggling ring China has broken this year, according to the agency.
