Hong Kong and Shenzhen Customs officers have arrested 16 people and seized $6 million worth of goods - shutting down a syndicate smuggling high-value electronic goods and computer accessories across the Sha Tau Kok River into the Mainland.

Customs officers discovered the syndicate was using an aerial cable to convey the goods from the Shau Tau Kok area across the boundary - the first time they had ever come across this method of smuggling.

Hong Kong Customs officers arrested four local men aged 33 to 38 yesterday, seizing $4.4 million worth of goods including mobile phones, computer memory chips and memory cards.

Shenzhen Customs officers arrested 12 Mainlanders including 11 men and a woman, and seized $1.6 million worth of mobile phones.