Customs authorities in Guangzhou, capital of southern China's Guangdong Province, said Sunday that they had busted a gasoline trafficking ring.

Guangzhou customs said they launched a raid with the municipal public security bureau and the provincial coast guards in several cities on Sept. 17.

In the raid, a gang involving 38 suspects was captured, and 11 vessels and 808.5 tonnes of gasoline were seized, the customs said.

Investigation showed the smuggling ring had used modified vessels to smuggle gasoline under the guise of a cleaning company in the city of Dongguan since 2016. They had smuggled 75,000 tonnes of gasoline worth over 560 million yuan (about 80 million U.S. dollars), according to customs authorities.

Further investigation is underway.