Smugglers use zip line and slingshot to sneak iPads into Shenzhen
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Chinese smugglers turned to a rather low-tech method for getting a pile of decidedly high-tech iPads and iPhones across the border to Shenzhen, in a scheme to make money off of regional tax differences. The unsanctioned exporters fired a slingshot from a high-rise in Shenzen, dragging a zip line down to a small house just across the Sha Tau Kok river in Hong Kong. They then sent canvas bags loaded with the gadgets flying through the night sky along the projectile-placed cable -- at least until authorities spotted the gear hurtling through the air, that is. Police recovered about $46,000 worth of Apple products (and four culprits) when they discovered the end of the 300-meter line. Check out the video below for a little Chinese-language news coverage of the story and a glimpse at the simple, but ingenious, smuggling rig.