The Guangdong coast guard have seized illicit cigarettes with a market value of over 50 million yuan (about 7.7 million U.S. dollars) and detained 13 suspected smugglers from an unidentified foreign vessel on waters of the Beibu Gulf.
According to the coast guard, officers received a tip-off on Sunday that a vessel carrying smuggled goods was likely to pass through the waters of the Beibu Gulf.
They later noticed a suspicious foreign vessel named MAN FU that was consistently navigating along the margins of China's sea area. They seized the vessel and discovered about 7,583 boxes with more than 300,000 cartons of cigarettes on board, including the brands OX3, OX5 and DUDANG GARAM.
Further investigation is ongoing.