A smuggling ring attempting to transfer seven Vietnamese nationals to Taiwan by way of Pingtan county was discovered on July 17, local border police said.

The ring, including members from the Chinese mainland, Taiwan and Vietnam, was under investigation after police in Ningde city, Fujian province, were tipped off about their bold plan to ship seven Vietnamese citizens, including five men and two women, to Taiwan sometime in July.

Police from Pingtan, Ningde and Fuzhou launched a joint raid and caught the smugglers and organizers on a Taiwan ferry docking at Aoqian village, Pingtan, at 2 am, July 17.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Micheal Thai