A senior Chinese official is on trial in Beijing in the latest phase in the biggest corruption investigation in the country in the last 50 years.
The former vice-minister of public security, Mr Li Jizhou, who was also deputy head of the National Anti-Smuggling group, is the highest government official to date to be tried for his role in a multi-billion dollar smuggling operation in the eastern province of Xiamen.
Since last September 213 defendants have been found guilty and sentenced for their roles in the smuggling of cars, oil, cigarettes and other goods worth $6.4 billion. Seventeen of the defendants have been sentenced to death, while others have been given life prison terms.
The trials are a result of a year-long investigation into the smuggling syndicate in Xiamen headed by Hong Kong businessman Mr Lai Changxing. He is detained in Canada on emigration charges and is fighting extradition attempts, but two of his brothers have been sentenced in relation to the case.
The latest to go on trial, Mr Li, is accused of receiving huge bribes between December 1994 and the first half of 1997 from Mr Lai. In return Mr Li is alle ged to have interfered when pol ice and border security authorit ies began investigations into oil tankers used by the smugglers.
Investigators also claim that between November 1994 and August 1995 Mr Li and his mistress received huge sums of money from smuggling suspect Mr Liang Yaohua. The authorities say Mr Li was paid for helping Mr Liang register a company and set up a duty-free warehouse.
The smuggling ring's influence was said to have reached into the highest ranks of the government, the Communist Party and the business and banking worlds.
It was announced yesterday that Mr Li has been expelled from the Communist Party and discharged from public employment.
A total of 91 government officials have been involved in the cases, including Mr Chen Yanxin, the former general manager of the Fujian Petroleum Company; Mr Che Dian, a former senior party official from Xiamen customs; Mr Lin Jindong, a senior party official from Xiamen; and Mr Lin Zhenmu, the former president of the Fujian branch of the Bank of China.
Last month seven people were executed for their role in the multi-billion dollar smuggling ring, including a customs officer and a bank official, after their appeals were turned down. The government has invested a great deal in winning public support for its commitment to stamp out corruption, which is thought to be one of the biggest impediments to economic progress in China.
The year-long investigation into the Xiamen cases is seen as a major victory in to the anti-corruption drive.
Because of the massive scale of the operation, trials have been held in Fuzhuo, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou provinces as well as Xiamen and Beijing.