According to a report from the Wall Street Journal ''Chinese authorities this week discovered a narrow concrete tunnel built by smugglers intending to shuttle consumer goods from Hong Kong across the border to the mainland Chinese city of Shenzhen''.
The tunnel, equipped with lights, vents and a rail track with pulleys to ferry contraband, was found by Shenzhen police before it was put to use. The passage was about 40 meters (131 feet) long and led from a garage in Shenzhen to a secluded thicket of reeds near the Hong Kong border, according to state media reports.
Authorities suspect that the tunnel, which was about 0.8-meter wide and a meter in height, was to be used to smuggle smartphones, tablets and other electronics from Hong Kong into mainland China.
Hong Kong's police force said that it was notified by its Shenzhen counterparts of the tunnel's existence Tuesday. "We will step up patrol of the border area," a Hong Kong police spokeswoman said Thursday. Shenzhen's police department couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Smuggling between the two cities has increased significantly in recent years. Although Hong Kong is under Chinese rule, the city is a special administrative region that is a free port with its own separate trade laws and tariffs that differ from the rest of mainland China. Travelers entering Hong Kong from China must go through immigration and customs clearance,
Hong Kong returned to Chinese administration in 1997, but the city remains separated from the rest of mainland China with miles of heavily guarded fences to prevent smuggling of illegal immigrants and goods.
Shenzhen, a city with a population of about nine million people directly across the border from Hong Kong, is a frequent gateway for trade, including smuggled goods.
