Shenzhen seizes 400 iPhone 7 smuggled from Hong Kong in one day

Customs officials in the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen seized more than 400 new iPhone 7 smuggled into the mainland from Hong Kong on the day of their release, reported Southern Metropolis Daily.

IPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus smartphones were seized in more than 60 cases when smugglers tried to sneak them through two checkpoints into the mainland, where Apple handsets fetch a higher price.

The first case happened at 1 p.m. on Friday when a passenger attempted to bring five brand-new iPhone 7s through the customs checkpoint of Futian in Shenzhen.

At 4 p.m., mainland and Hong Kong customs authorities announced a joint campaign against iPhone smuggling as 10 suspects were placed under close supervision and 44 iPhone 7s were seized.

From 6:30 to 7 p.m., the Futian checkpoint reported finding seven more smugglers who taped 190 iPhone 7s to their bodies. One said he earned about 300 yuan ($45) for smuggling some 20 handsets.

The seized iPhone 7s have a market price of 3 million yuan and will be put up for public auction, with the income turned over to the state treasury, said a customs official.