CUSTOMS officials busted a drug smuggling case, in which more than 1.1 tons of cocaine were hidden among frozen fish.

The authority said yesterday this was the biggest cocaine smuggling haul found in China in recent years. The cocaine, packed in a container, was scheduled to be transported from South America to Cambodia, stopping in Shanghai for the goods to be transferred.

The city’s customs inspected the container last November 4. The products inside, weighing about 20 tons, were declared to be “frozen Pacific mackerel.”

The container was inspected as a result of international cooperation between China and the United States, the customs authority said.

The authority found a total of 276 cartons containing crack cocaine.

To catch the drug dealers, customs officials repacked the cartons after removing the cocaine in a warehouse and sealed the container, which was loaded as scheduled on November 14 for Sihanoukville Autonomous Port in Cambodia.

The ship arrived in Cambodia on November 24. Under the deployment of China National Narcotic Control Committee, a Chinese unit was sent to Cambodia.

The container was transported to Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia, on November 26, when local police launched an operation to catch the suspects.

Four suspects — two Vietnamese-Canadians and two Vietnameses — were caught. Three other suspects are still at large and the Interpol has been alerted.