More than 150 people have been detained in a 1.4-billion-yuan (US$169 million) diesel oil smuggling case in Guangzhou, capital of South China's Guangdong Province, according to the Guangzhou based Yangcheng Evening News.

Investigations by the Guangzhou customs house revealed that a group headed by Zheng Hongjun had allegedly smuggled 540,000 tons of diesel oil and 10,000 tons of cooking oil into the country over a four year period.

The group evaded 350 million yuan (US$42 million) in taxes.

Zheng's group, started in 1998, built up a fleet of more than 80 ships and owned a huge oil tanker.

The group operated throughout most of the Pearl River Delta and adjoining regions, including cities like Zhuhai, Zhongshan and Dongguan.

The quantities involved in the individual operations varied from as little as seven to as much as 70 tons.

To cover its smuggling activities, the group established oil trading companies. For example, a member of the group surnamed Liang, who was nicknamed the "Oil King," owned six petrol stations and a tank with a capacity of 500 tons.

To protect themselves, the group also employed people to monitor the moves of law enforcement bodies. These people worked from five to 12 hours on each assignment and were paid 300 yuan (US$36) to 500 yuan (US$60) each time.

Last February, the smuggling suppression bureau of the Guangzhou customs house uncovered some clues concerning the case.

Because of the extent and the complexity of the case, the bureau did not arrest Zheng immediately and was thus able to amass more evidence against the group.

On September 21 last year, Zheng and 15 other key members of the group were seized.

To date, a total of 152 suspects have been detained and 86 have been arraigned for trial.

According to Chen Jianwen, director of the smuggling suppression bureau of the Guangzhou customs house, Zheng's group was mainly composed of his relatives and had developed a network that included supply, transportation, storage and sales.

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