Photo: Screenshot of MSS' WeChat post

China's national security authorities, acting on a public report, caught a group of eight family members attempting to smuggle antimony, a controlled material, out of the country. The goods were seized, and the suspects have been placed under criminal measures according to the law, Ministry of State Security (MSS) unveiled via its official WeChat account on Saturday.

In this smuggling group, the mastermind A, who lives overseas, provided the funding and contacted domestic antimony producers, using a shell company to sign contracts for high-purity antimony ingots. His son B arranged for workers to smuggle the ingots out of China, while A's brother C received the shipments abroad and transferred them through a third country before sending them on to another destination, the post said. 

Coincidentally, another criminal group, lured by huge profits, attempted to smuggle antimony ingots in batches by hiding them among mixed goods declared for regular customs. Following a report from the public, national security authorities, working with relevant departments, caught five suspects on site and seized several tons of antimony ingots, the post said.

The MSS noted that at present, some foreign countries are trying to expand their reserves of rare metals such as antimony and are seeking ways to bypass China's export controls in order to obtain these scarce strategic resources, which have already posed a real threat to China's national security and interests, calling efforts from public to report to relevant authorities to crack down such criminals.

China's Ministry of Commerce and General Administration of Customs on August 16, 2024, jointly released an announcement noting that from September 15, 2024, some antimony-related items and superhard materials cannot be exported without permission.

The move aims to safeguard national security and fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, the announcement said, emphasizing that the export controls are not targeted at any specific country or region, and exports complying with relevant regulations will be approved.

Global Times