SMUGGLERS will face more severe punishments for smuggling goods or humans via Zhongying Street, which is jointly governed by Shenzhen and Hong Kong, in Yantian District as a new set of regulations specifically designed to curb smuggling at the border area is expected to be passed by lawmakers.

The draft of regulations on managing the border in the Shatoujiao area, where the street is located, was submitted to the Standing Committee of the Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress for review Tuesday.

According to official statistics, the number of smuggling cases via Zhongying Street increased sharply from 61 in 2013 to 291 in 2015.

Border police on the street said Wednesday that they had captured a Hong Kong resident who was organizing human smuggling and a Guangdong woman last week.

At around 10 p.m. June 23, border police officers discovered that the Hong Kong resident, surnamed Wong, and the mainlander, identified as Zhu, were trying to cross the border without a legal travel pass.

Zhu used to lived in Hong Kong illegally in 2016 and was not allowed to apply for a Hong Kong travel pass. After being introduced by another human smuggler, surnamed Chen, Zhu came to know Wong who promised to take her to Hong Kong via Zhongying Street for a charge of 5,000 to 6,000 yuan (US$725 to 870).

However, the two were caught red-handed by the inspectors patrolling the border. The police are still investigating the case.

Although a special managing administration under the Yantian District Government has been set up to manage the area, smuggling cases in the area have been increasing.

The draft was designed to strengthen the administration’s authority to cooperate with various levels of law enforcement departments in cracking down on smuggling.

Firms and organizations inside the managing area must not hire employees without valid, legal passes to control the number of smugglers, also dubbed as shuike in Chinese. Violators will be fined 5,000 yuan and receive a warning, according to the draft.

Vehicles that are involved in transporting smuggled goods will be disqualified from registering for five years.

Also, tour guides that collude with shops to swindle tourists out of money with fake goods will be fined. (Zhang Qian)