BEIJING - A procuratorate in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region has approved the arrest of three people suspected of smuggling waste from Vietnam, according to a statement of the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

The three suspects, surnamed Song, Pan and Huang, are believed to have bought more than 20,000 tons of residue from iron and steel manufacturers in Vietnam and imported them to Guangxi under fake certificates of zinc oxide products, the statement said.

In August 2017, Song declared nearly 2,400 tons of zinc oxide powder to local customs under the name of a mining company.

From December 2016 to May 2017, another nine batches of zinc oxide powder imported under Song's name were identified as industrial waste.

It is the largest such smuggling case in Guangxi.