GUANGZHOU, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Forty-nine foreigners who attempted to enter China without official documentation have been arrested by Chinese police, authorities said Sunday.

Police with Jiangmen City, south China's Guangdong Province, received a tip-off this month, saying a group of people from Southeast Asia were planning to enter China to work in the southern coastal areas, the police said.

Police nabbed the suspects in Jiangmen's Heshan City on Feb. 17.

Most of the suspects are youngsters seeking "high-paying jobs" in China's southern seaboard. They were told to pay fees ranging from 800 yuan (123 U.S. dollars) to 8,000 yuan to criminal gangs, known as "snake heads," in exchange for jobs with payment "ten times higher than in their hometowns," one of the suspects told police.

Further investigation is under way.