It’s a bit ironic that Apple’s consumer devices such as the iPhone and the iPad are such hot items in China that there is a considerable grey market import for the devices. After all, such products are made in China, only to be shipped out and later to be smuggled back in. The motivation behind the smuggling is to take advantage of the lower prices and taxes elsewhere.

Chinese authorities have put a stop to one of the more inventive smuggling rackets between Hong Kong and Shenzhen. Smugglers made a zip line that stretched from the 21^st floor of a Hong Kong apartment that extended 300 meters over the Sha Tau Kok River.

Through the use of a crossbow to create the zip line and bags attached to hooks, iPads and iPhones could make the cross-border trip in 2 minutes.

It all came to an end when authorities acted on their surveillance efforts and arrested six individuals, and seized 50 iPad 2s and 50 iPhone 4s, which worth about three hundred thousand yuan (US$46,583).