GUANGZHOU - Customs officers and police in Guangdong province have jointly uncovered a smuggling case involving over 200,000 tonnes of solid waste.

The waste, including various metals and copper, has been imported from other countries since 2014, without a proper licence, according to Shantou customs.

Police caught 24 suspects in raids early Tuesday morning in the cities of Shantou, Guangzhou, Foshan, and Qingyuan, seizing about 1,000 tonnes of scrap metals.

Solid waste often contains harmful elements if not properly disposed of.

China has banned 24 categories of solid waste imports since the end of 2017.

The case is under further investigation.