The pulley was used to bring bags up from a small house in Hong Kong to an apartment in Shenzhen

Smugglers, trying to make a profit from the tax differences between Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland, have been caught after their pulley and zip-line was discovered by customs officers.

The creative smugglers attached one end of a strong fishing line to the 21st storey of a Shenzhen high-rise and shot the other end across the Sha Tau Kok river to a small rural house in Hong Kong with a crossbow!.

iPhone 4’s and iPad 2’s were then hoisted along the line in black nylon bags via a make shift pulley in the early hours of the morning.

Chinese customs confiscated 100's of Apple iPads and iPhones

Chinese customs officers managed to stop the smuggling after discovering the 300 meter line, and managed to confiscate more than 50 iPhones and iPad 2’s worth approximately 300,000 Yuan ($46,600).

Video below: