Hong Kong Customs officers have arrested seven people for attempting to smuggle about 10 million HK dollars (US$1.28 million) worth of goods into the mainland, the Customs said Friday.

About 12.30 AM Friday, officers spotted a targeted mainland vessel off Tap Shek Kok in Tuen Mun. It was heading towards Zhaoqing, Guangdong.

They found on board 10 million HK dollars worth of goods, including eight printing machines, 12 photocopying machines, 25 electrical sewing machines, seven trailers, 36 axles, a large batch of vehicle parts, 750 used computer monitors and three dredgers.

Six men and a woman, aged 25 to 44, including a 44-year-old male coxswain, were arrested for breaching the Import & Export Ordinance. Investigations showed the smugglers attempted to evade mainland tax of about two million renminbi (US$259,740).

(Xinhua News Agency May 12, 2007)