SCIO briefing series on 'high-quality achievements during the 14th Five-Year Plan period': Customs

Dazhong Daily:

In recent years, we have often seen customs release typical cases of cracking down on smuggling. Everyone detests smuggling crimes that disrupt the normal order of the market economy. May I ask, as the competent authority responsible for combating smuggling, how does the customs maintain a high-pressure stance against this type of crime? Thank you.

Sun Meijun:

Thank you for your question. Smuggling endangers national security and public interest. It disrupts the economy and market order. It is a criminal act that must be eradicated. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, customs, in collaboration with public security and other relevant departments, has launched special operations, deepened international law enforcement cooperation, and vigorously cracked down on smuggling crimes, effectively safeguarding the border. We investigated 23,000 smuggling crimes with a total value of nearly 480 billion yuan, involving taxes of over 60 billion yuan. Smuggling of key commodities such as foreign waste, endangered species, drugs, and controlled items has been effectively curbed. At the same time, customs has coordinated with the national anti-smuggling office, jointly advancing related work with relevant departments and local governments. We have encouraged wide public participation and built a governance system encompassing crackdown, prevention, regulation and control, achieving significant results in comprehensive anti-smuggling efforts. China Customs has been awarded the Asia Environmental Enforcement Award twice by the United Nations Environment Programme. Next, I will share with you some major campaigns and the results achieved.

First is the "Mission" operation. This is a special operation to crack down on drug smuggling. One gram of drugs is enough to destroy a family, and it is our mission to prevent this from happening. During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we have filed and investigated 3,032 criminal cases involving the smuggling of drugs into the country, seizing 15.7 tons of various drugs such as methamphetamine and cocaine, resolutely preventing the smuggling of such items into the country.

Another operation is the "Blue Sky", which targets the smuggling of foreign garbage. Some of the containers we seized were filled with waste plastic, used clothes and waste slag, which contained a large amount of germs and harmful substances, affecting people's health and the ecological environment. Through continuous high-pressure crackdowns, the smuggling of foreign garbage has been greatly reduced. The weight of verified solid waste in 2024 decreased by 96% compared with 2020.

Third is "Operation Escort," a joint special operation carried out by the GAC and the Ministry of Public Security to combat the smuggling of duty-free goods from Hainan. As many of you may know, this practice involves unlawfully using duty-free privileges and quotas to purchase duty-free goods and then resell them for profit. Since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, we have carried out special crackdown actions and implemented comprehensive measures, handling related cases with a total value of 5.9 billion yuan. This has created a strong deterrent against these illegal activities, effectively safeguarding the development of the Hainan Free Trade Port.

Fourth is "Operation Mekong Dragon," a joint international law enforcement operation in the Asia-Pacific region initiated by China Customs and Vietnam Customs, focusing on combating drugs and endangered wildlife trafficking. Since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, five consecutive phases of this operation have been conducted, and the number of participating countries and regions has expanded to more than 20. According to reports from participating parties, more than 60 metric tons of various drugs and precursor chemicals and 479 metric tons of endangered wildlife products have been seized. This operation has become a flagship project for international law enforcement cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.

Fifth is "Operation Demeter," a joint international operation initiated by China Customs under the framework of the World Customs Organization (WCO) to crack down on the smuggling of solid waste. Since the launch of the 14th Five-Year Plan, five consecutive phases of this operation have been conducted. Participating countries and regions have reported the seizure of 35,000 metric tons of smuggled waste. This operation has become a public good for global customs law enforcement cooperation in the field of ecological environment, enhancing global synergy in combating solid waste smuggling.

Just now, journalist friends noticed many typical cases released by the customs. In the future, we will continue to publish typical cases of crackdowns both to explain the law and serve as a warning to others. We will further strengthen targeted crackdowns, deepen comprehensive management of anti-smuggling efforts, consolidate and improve international law enforcement cooperation mechanisms, and resolutely safeguard national security and the interests of the people through more rigorous anti-smuggling measures.

Thank you.