The first-instance judgment of an extraordinarily large smuggling of agricultural and sideline products case in Guangxi Involving goods involved was nearly 600 million yuan

The picture shows the scene of the trial. Photo courtesy of Nanning Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau

Nanning, 13 Dec (Xinhua) -- Nanning Customs reported on 13 December that the Intermediate People's Court of Liuzhou City, Guangxi Province, recently rendered a first-instance judgment on a case of smuggling agricultural and sideline products investigated by the Liuzhou Customs Anti-Smuggling Subbureau, and the court sentenced the defendants Zhao Mouyi, Huang Mouxia, and four others to fixed-term imprisonment ranging from 13 to 10 years for the crime of smuggling ordinary goods, and imposed fines ranging from 30 million yuan to 6.3 million yuan, recovered the illegal gains according to law, and handed them over to the state treasury.

On March 20, 2019, the Liuzhou Customs Anti-Smuggling Sub-Bureau carried out centralized arrest under the unified deployment and command of the Nanning Customs Anti-Smuggling Bureau, successfully arrested 9 criminal suspects in Liuzhou, Nanning and other places, and smashed 1 criminal gang smuggling agricultural and sideline products in one fell swoop.

It was found that since 2017, defendants Li Moujun, Li Moutao and others have purchased dried peppers and other goods produced in India and other countries from foreign distributors, transported them to Vietnam first, and then falsely declared their origin as Vietnam through the logistics company actually controlled by Zhao Mouyi and Huang Mouxia, evaded huge taxes payable, and smuggled dried peppers and other agricultural and sideline products worth nearly 600 million yuan.

The gang smuggled imported agricultural and sideline products to evade huge taxes, which not only affected state tax revenues, but also disrupted the normal import and export order, impacted the domestic market, and seriously affected normal market operations. The agricultural and sideline products involved in the case were not effectively quarantined and supervised when smuggled into the country, and after entering the market, there were not only hidden risks in food safety, but also harmful organisms could be carried into the country, endangering China's ecological environment.

The Customs Anti-Smuggling Police reminds that according to the provisions of item 3 of the first paragraph of article 153 of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, whoever smuggles goods or articles and evades the amount of tax payable is particularly large or has other particularly serious circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years or life imprisonment, and shall also be fined not less than one time but not more than five times the amount of tax payable for smuggling or confiscating property. (End)

Source: China News Network