So far they
have arrested members of 21 gangs and have seized more than 100,000 tonnes of
smuggled meat, including chicken wings, beef and pork, state news agency Xinhua
said. In one raid in southern Hunan province, police arrested 20 people.
Customs
officials found some of the meat was more than 40 years old, meaning it dated
back to the 1970s. Other parts were rotten and decomposing, the China Daily
newspaper said.
The newspaper
hasn’t said what happened to the meat.
Industry
sources say hundreds of thousands of tonnes of beef is being smuggled into
China via neighbouring Hong Kong and Vietnam, from countries such as Brazil and
India, to sidestep Beijing's import curbs.
Hong Kong
has been a big customer of Canadian beef and pork for many years, long before
Hong Kong reverted to Chinese control.
