By Chris Chang, posted Dec 7, 2010 at 12:36 PM, 3,767 views,

Smugglers Caught with Loads of iPads and Cellphones Worth 140 Million Dollars

Even though the iPad is for sale in China through legitimate channels, there’s a short enough supply that smuggling the devices in from Hong Kong is still big business. Especially, it seems, for these smuggling gangs from Hong Kong. Oh, even housewives are smuggling hundreds of cellphones by wrapping the devices around their waist. Check out the videos after the break.

Zhuhai Customs Crack Down On 11 Smuggling Gangs

Here’s how a gang starts the mission. A leader will distribute backpacks to gang members and each member will carry one backpack to smuggle the devices through customs at Shenzhen or Zhuhai. Each backpack contains different gadgets. For example, a bag is stuffed with iPhones, while the another one is stuffed with iPads. The reason why these people are always smuggling Apple products from Hong Kong to the mainland is because these devices cost cheaper in HK. So, they could make a profit by reselling the devices in China. Here’s one funny thing you need to know, every smuggler will earn 15 yuan (about $2) for passing the customs with a backpack successfully.

Unfortunately, the Zhuhai customs recently stopped 11 smuggling gangs and arrested about 80 smugglers. If these smugglers managed to pass through the customers, they could avoid paying 19 million dollars of tax.

Housewives Caught With Cellphones Wrapped Around Waist

Cool huh? A group of 14 women are caught by Shenzhen customs for smuggling 88 iPads and 340 mobile phones without paying tax. Among the ladies, one carried a handbag containing 10 iPads, while another one stuffed 20 cellphones into a bag and wrapped 65 cellphones around her waist. These iPads and cellphones are worth 950,000 yuan (about $143,000). According to the ladies, each of them could earn 200 yuan (about $30) for one round and they just wanted to make a bit of extra cash. To be honest, they definitely need more thinking and power to get the job done perfectly.

Source: Appledaily, Newpad.cn