SHANGHAI: Shanghai Customs said it had cracked down on an diesel smuggling gang that had smuggled oil products worth over 100 million yuan (US$15.2 million) since last year.
The 21 members of the gang were caught in Shanghai and in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Customs officials said most of them were relatives.
The gang owned a 1,000-ton vessel that would collect diesel from providers on the international waters, and then transfer the oil products into smaller carriers before smuggling them into Shanghai.
All the 21 suspects were caught by the customs and maritime police on December 13 and 14, 2015.
Police investigations revealed that the gang had smuggled 23,000 tons of oil products, most of which were diesel fuel that could be used in cars, boats and boilers.
Police said the gang used other people’s bank cards for money transfers during the illegal business.
They also changed apartments and mobile phone numbers often that made it difficult to track them down.
