This Day, That Year

Item from Jan 6, 1999, in China Daily: China’s antismuggling campaign marked a milestone yesterday with the formal establishment of a 6,000-strong anti-smuggling police force to supervise 19 customs offices across China.

The force will be strengthened by 4,000 additional officers at another 23 major customs offices by the end of June.

China has seen a spike in the smuggling of illegal goods and protected animals in recent years.

A large number of cases are being reported from the hinterland as well as from border regions, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Drugs, weapons, endangered species and rare earth metals are the most smuggled items.

In November, police arrested five suspects in the smuggling of a snow leopard fur from Mongolia to China. They were arrested in Manzhouli in the Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In addition to the fur, police also found 50,000 yuan ($7,300) in cash at the scene. It was unclear whether the leopard was killed in China.

Snow leopards are a Class A protected animal, and are classified as “endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. There are an estimated 3,500 to 7,000 snow leopards living in the wild, in addition to around 650 in captivity worldwide.

Under Chinese criminal laws, those who smuggle animals and their products can face up to five years in jail and fines.

If the circumstances are serious, the offender could be sentenced to jail terms of more than 10 years or even life in prison.