Crackdown curbs waste smuggling

Solid trash and endangered animals and plants targeted to ensure security

The high incidence of smuggling banned solid waste as well as endangered animals and plants has been effectively curbed, and authorities will maintain a strict crackdown on such violations to protect ecological and environmental security, a senior anti-smuggling official said on Friday.

Sun Zhijie, director of the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of the General Administration of Customs, said anti-smuggling departments have carried out special campaigns against smuggling operations that used concealment, false declarations, fake certificates and circumvention of custom inspections.

According to the bureau, anti-smuggling departments have investigated 1,978 cases of solid waste smuggling, and found nearly 6.6 million metric tons of banned solid waste since 2017.

Sun said that China has reduced the number of solid waste import licenses since 2017 and completely banned the importing of solid waste in 2021. After a sustained crackdown, smuggling of solid waste has been contained, and such cases have declined significantly every year.

"Banned solid waste often contains harmful substances, including pathogenic bacteria, and the processing of it could also cause irreversible pollution to soil, water and air, endangering the physical and mental health of the people," he said.

The Ministry of Public Security, the General Administration of Customs, the Supreme People's Court and the Supreme People's Procuratorate also established a joint working mechanism to deal with banned solid waste and issued a notice urging suspects to surrender. So far, 56 people have surrendered from overseas.

Combating the smuggling of endangered animals and plants has also achieved significant progress during the past 10 years, with 2,130 relevant cases being investigated and nearly 5,730 metric tons of endangered animals and plants and their products being seized since 2012, according to the bureau.

Sun said that a series of special operations targeting smuggling, including of ivory, pangolin scales and rosewood, were launched during the period, and multiple domestic and foreign criminal groups and a number of online sales platforms have been busted.

China has actively promoted international law enforcement cooperation in fighting smuggling, he said.

China's anti-smuggling department has won the Environmental Enforcement Awards issued by the United Nations Environment Programme four times, and the Clark R. Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Awards four times over its contribution.