Marine police in east China's Fujian Province recently stopped a cargo ship carrying 18 containers of suspected smuggled cars and parts, and detained the eight crew members on board.
Dismantled Toyota, Nissan, Audi, Buick, Blue Bird and other brands of sedans and spare parts were found inside the containers.
Police estimated that the cargo is worth about four million yuan.
The vessel was intercepted by the police in early hours of May 1 off the coast of Quanzhou.
Police said the vessel had attempted to escape even after they had fired warning shots into the air, but it was eventually overtaken by police boats.
Preliminary investigations disclosed that the 500-ton steel cargo vessel, named "Yongcheng," is registered in Quanzhou.
Crew members said the vessel was loaded with the cargo on April 28 at a Hong Kong wharf. It left the Kowloon port on April 29 and was destined for Ningbo, a port in Zhejiang Province.
They admitted that the vessel was almost caught by marine police on the sea off Hong Kong, but they narrowly escaped.
The case is under further investigation.
(Xinhua 05/10/2001)
