Chinese customs handled 55,755 smuggling cases from 1998 to 2002, with the value estimated at 43.04 billion yuan (US$5.19 billion), sources from the General Administration of Customs said Sunday.

Other law enforcement departments including public security bureaus and administrations for industry and commerce also dealt with some 41,000 smuggling cases involving a total value of 8.02 billion yuan (US$9.7 million) since a nationwide anti-smuggling campaign was launched in July 1998.

The crackdown on smuggling has effectively curbed illegal trade and resulted in a sharp growth of the trade business, the sources said.

The country has been witnessed an average annual growth of 17.7percent in imports and exports since 1998, and more than 1 trillion yuan (US$120 billion) worth of customs tariffs has been put into the state coffers.

The customs' anti-smuggling police force has detained 14,955 smuggling suspects since it was founded in 1999, with 7,791 of them transferred to judicial departments.

In the last five years, procuratorates at all levels have litigated 7,030 smuggling suspects, while courts at various levels have dealt with 3,324 smuggling cases, with 4,690 convicted smugglers punished according to law.

(Xinhua News Agency August 4, 2003)