Guangdong police recently destroyed a major marine drug smuggling channel in Chinese waters after busting a drug ring, according to a statement released by Guangdong's provincial department of public security on Tuesday.

In a recent action launched in collaboration with Coast Guard, border inspection, and customs officers, police detained 13 suspects and seized more than 330 kilograms of cocaine after solving the marine drug smuggling case, according to the statement.

Police from Zhuhai established a special task force after local police and their Hong Kong counterparts salvaged a batch of drugs floating in relevant waters in March 2024.

After months of investigation, police learned that an international drug trafficking gang had smuggled the drugs.

The gang threw drugs overboard from cargo ships while passing through Chinese waters and then organized smugglers from the mainland and Hong Kong to salvage them.

A special operation was quickly launched when the gang traded the drugs again, said the statement.

In another development, police in Shenzhen also destroyed a cross-border drug transportation channel through domestic transit in an operation launched in collaboration with Hong Kong counterparts last November, the statement said.

Police detained 10 suspects and seized 204 kilograms of cocaine and 50 kilograms of marijuana during the operation. A drug warehouse outside the mainland was also destroyed.