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AFP
Published
Nov 8, 2007
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China arrests 25 in 4.5-ton platinum smuggling ring

By
AFP
Published
Nov 8, 2007

BEIJING, Nov 8, 2007 (AFP) - Customs officials on China's border with Hong Kong have cracked two smuggling rings and confiscated 4.5 tons of platinum valued at 1.64 billion yuan (220 million dollars), state media said Thursday, November 8th.

Police arrested 25 people, including six Hong Kong residents, who were trying to cheat tax authorities of up to 248 million yuan in false rebates, Xinhua news agency said.

Platinum, which is more expensive than gold, is widely used in the jewellery industry and has a wide range of industrial applications.

Police suspect the seized platinum was produced in China and sold into Hong Kong, earning a 13 percent export tax rebate for the seller.

The gangss then smuggled the platinum back across the border into China's Guangdong province, from where it was to have been resold to Hong Kong which would have earned another tax rebate, the report said.

Higher global prices for platinum on world markets when compared with China's domestic market also offered incentives, it added.

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