More than 100 people have reportedly been arrested on suspicion of conspiring to receive diamonds smuggled from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland, says a report in idexonline.com.
A Chinese couple was supposedly apprehended with possession of 150 packets of undocumented diamonds with details of their destinations, in the border of the metropolis of Shenzhen. Incidentally, Shenzhen is a special economic zone (SEZ) which is home to more than 2,300 cutting and polishing units. The couple, when picked up, spilt all the information which led to the arrest of 120 Chinese nationals.The report says that diamonds legally imported into China attract a four per cent customs duty, which the smugglers try to evade, adding that in a similar incident, nine Indian diamond traders were jailed in Shenzhen for smuggling polished diamonds in the year 2010.
Aruna Gaitonde, Editor in Chief of the Asian Bureau, Rough&Polished
