Chinese customs uncovered 12,939 smuggling cases involving 9.9 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) in 2003, up 23 percent and 51 percent, respectively, a national meeting was told on Friday.

A senior Customs officer told the meeting attended by leading officers of the country's customs that 1,914 smuggling suspects had been charged with criminal offenses.

China stepped up its crackdown on smuggling late last year following a national meeting on anti-smuggling activities in August, and 560 cases involving goods valued at 5 billion yuan (us$600 million) had been uncovered during the four months.

The officer said Customs departments also clamped down on trafficking of drugs, cultural relics and pirated DVD disks during the past year, and Customs officers seized 4,456.5 kg of drugs during 2003.

(Xinhua News Agency January 9, 2004)