After more than a month’s investigation and preparations, the Putian Municipal Bureau of China Coast Guard, Putian Public Security Bureau and Putian Tobacco Bureau of Fujian Province successfully cracked a massive cigarette smuggling case. They seized 1 mother ship, 4 speed boats, 3 vehicles, 18 suspects, about 240,000 cartons of cigarettes and more than RMB 2.2 million cash, involving up to RMB 210 million in total. The case fully demonstrated the great effects of the Fujian Provincial Bureau’s anti-smuggling efforts in recent years.

On July 13, 2021, Putian Municipal Bureau, according to previously obtained tips, took action on the sea and on land simultaneously and seized 4 speed boats, 2 vehicles, 6 suspects and 13,000 cartons of cigarettes in sea areas near the Xiuyu District of Putian. After that, the Bureau immediately formed a special taskforce and worked in coordination with local public security and tobacco authorities to dig out the whole smuggling chain behind the scene based on technical reconnaissance and careful analysis and judgment. In the evening of August 9, the Putian Municipal Bureau, under the command of superior authorities, took action in conjunction with Putian Public Security Bureau and Putian Tobacco Bureau in downtown Fuzhou, Lianjiang County, Yunnan’s Honghe Prefecture and Putian’s Nanri Island, seizing 12 suspects, 1 mother ship, 1 vehicle, more than 220,000 cartons of cigarettes and over RMB 2.2 million in cash. By then, the massive cigarette smuggling case was successfully solved, lending a heavy blow to the whole smuggling chain and forcefully deterring maritime criminals.

In accordance with the anti-pandemic measures, the Putian Municipal Bureau kept close communication with the local health commission and the entry and exit department of the public security bureau, and conducted nucleic acid testing and concentrated quarantine of all suspects and officers involved in the case. It has also comprehensively sterilized the seized cigarettes, ships and other articles to prevent and control the pandemic. The case is under further investigation.