Chinese customs bust major excavator smuggling case

GUANGZHOU, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- The anti-smuggling bureau of the General Administration of Customs has organized several customs departments across China to bust a gang smuggling imported second-hand excavators.

The customs departments in multiple places, including the Huangpu District of Guangzhou, the capital city of south China's Guangdong Province, arrested a total of 13 suspects in the cities of Shenzhen, Nanchang and Tianjin.

According to the preliminary investigation, the gang is suspected of smuggling over 800 second-hand excavators worth 550 million yuan (about 86.13 million U.S. dollars) in total.

The gang used a variety of methods, including fabricating false information, to smuggle the excavators into China.

The investigation into the case is ongoing.