Zip wire smuggling gang arrested
A SAVVY gang of smugglers have been arrested for using a zip wire to whisk goods across the heavily policed Chinese and Hong Kong border.
The crooks rigged up the 300-metre long cable by using a crossbow to shoot it across the fenced-off border before stringing it from the top of a tall Chinese building.
The gang had been operating for two or three weeks and were whisking small batches of contraband goods along the cable at night by using a zip wire and pulley system.
The sixteen member gang was arrested on Thursday.
"They took 10 to 15 seconds to smuggle goods weighing 3-5kg, such as 20-30 mobile phones each time," said Leo Sin, a senior Hong Kong customs’ intelligence officer.
Electronics goods worth over $770,000 were seized in the raid, including 3,300 mobile phones and 2,100 computer memory cards.