SHENZHEN Customs cracked 1,012 currency-smuggling cases at the city’s border checkpoints between January and October, up by 38.8 percent compared with the same period last year, according to sz.people.cn.

    These currency-smuggling cases involved an overall value of 171 million yuan (US$25.15 million), representing a year-on-year growth of 24.5 percent, according to the report.

    Customs officers at Luohu Checkpoint caught a Hong Kong visitor bringing 230,000 yuan in cash across the border from Shenzhen to Hong Kong on Nov. 20. An hour later, another Hong Kong visitor was caught carrying 280,000 yuan.

    On Nov. 23, a Hong Kong woman was caught carrying 300,000 yuan in cash in her handbag by Luohu Customs officials when she was returning to Hong Kong. The woman said that she needed the money to cover the costs for decorating her apartment in Hong Kong.

    Shenzhen Customs said that many illegal private banks might have hired parallel traders to smuggle currency across the border due to the continuous depreciation of the yuan this year, but such illegal behavior will sabotage the financial order of the Chinese mainland.

    A spokesperson of Shenzhen Customs said that the customs will crack down on these currency smugglers, who are also called “financial ants,” as they illegally bring the money across the border for others to make a profit.

    According to relevant regulations, travelers are allowed to carry 20,000 yuan in cash or foreign currencies equaling US$5,000 at most when crossing the border between Hong Kong and Shenzhen.

    (Zhang Yang)