China saw a marked drop in the number of smuggling cases in the first half of the year, but the value of goods seized was much higher, said the General Administration of Customs (GAC) in Beijing on Wednesday.

Statistics from the GAC show that China's customs cracked 3,671 smuggling cases in the first six months, down 21.5 percent on last year. However, the value of the cases solved was 7.12 billion yuan, up a whopping 63 percent year on year.

This year the country's customs have concentrated on cracking down on major smuggling cases, said the GAC.

Shenzhen customs spent five months investigating a false declaration of exported goods in the processing trade, worth a mere 70,000 yuan, but this painstaking work allowed them to crack a 220 million yuan smuggling case.

The GAC said customs houses across China conducted special operations in areas where smuggling is rampant such as refined oil, leather, imported automobiles and car spare parts.

Maritime smuggling and smuggling by travelers were also key points of focus for the anti-smuggling campaign, according to the GAC.

Customs will continue to fight large-scale smuggling. Some companies cheat on import and export prices, and violent resistance to anti-smuggling operations is on the rise, noted Mu Xinsheng, head of the GAC.

Smuggling is a challenge for customs teams. China's customs intend to further develop their anti-smuggling mechanisms and strengthen social participation in the fight against smuggling, said Mu.

(Xinhua News Agency August 3, 2006)