According to online news media on.cc, Chinese customs at the Gongbei port of Zhuhai, Guangdong announced on 26 March 2017 that it had solved a diamond smuggling case that involved more than 6,000 diamonds and cracked down on three web shops that allegedly solicited customers and hired Hong Kong and Macau residents including university students in Hong Kong as ‘parallel traders’ to smuggle diamonds into mainland China. Initial investigations showed that the goods were worth 103 million yuan.
Last year, the risk management department of the Gongbei port customs began suspecting Taobao overseas agents from Macau of smuggling goods including diamonds. Further investigations helped them pin down three web shops.
It was indicated that the smuggled diamonds were purchased from Blue Nile. As the recipient is in mainland China, the seller has to add 17-percent tax to the price. The three web shops attracted sales with ‘tax-free’ offer by using addresses in Hong Kong and Macau and hiring students and labour from both regions to smuggle diamonds to mainland China and pass the goods to the buyer using local courier services.
Investigations showed that the three web shops had received over a thousand orders each year and the smuggler could make a profit between 260 to 1,200 yuan from each piece of diamond. Currently the Gongbei customs had pressed criminal charges against 10 people, including well-educated individuals and management staffs from listed companies.
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