Fourteen people were caught smuggling frozen shellfish in east China's Shandong province, local customs said Monday.
Qingdao customs seized products such as scallops, shrimps and crabs with a value of 230 million yuan (about 34.7 million U.S. dollars).
The suspects include Wang and Jiang, who ordered frozen produce from Japan before delivering it to Vietnam. They allegedly faked documents for the origin of the products and had two others, Xie and Cai, bring the produce to China in batches.
China's policy exempts people from paying tariffs if their cargo is less than 8,000 yuan in value and they live within 20 kilometers of the national border. It is believed the suspects attempted to exploit this policy to avoid tariffs, police said.
The other suspects were accused of similar crimes.
An official with Qingdao customs told Xinhua that the suspects not only damaged the market, but also posed risks to public health by avoiding quarantine inspection.
