For Zhanjiang City, official life came to a standstill on September 8 last year. On that day, about 10,000 central government and provincial police descended on southern Guangdong's Leizhou Peninsula to arrest more than 200 government, customs and law enforcement officials for their participation in what state media has called the largest mainland smuggling racket of the last 50 years.
The '9898' smuggling case, as the affair has been named, is believed to have robbed state coffers of some 30 billion yuan (about HK$27.98 billion) in lost revenue due to the illegal import of thousands of tonnes of crude oil and steel, as well as cars and other manufactured goods.
The mastermind behind the operation is said to be Zhanjiang's former party secretary, Chen Tongqing, who in June barely escaped death when the first round of sentences were handed down by the Zhanjiang Intermediate Court.
Not so fortunate were Chen's principal accomplices - Zhanjiang customs boss Cao Xiukang and three local gangsters - who were immediately executed by order of the court.
Local officials maintain the rackets were the handiwork of a small group of evil-minded individuals. However, the vast number of bureaucrats involved in pay-offs and cover-ups suggests a more pervasive corruption infected the local establishment.
Among the 46 sentenced last Wednesday during a second round of trials were two commanders of the public security bureau's border bureau marine police, the city's construction commission chief and a senior official at the local economic and technology development zone.
Despite lingering questions about the city's self-styled smuggling syndicate, Zhanjiang mayor Zhou Zhenhong believes it is time to bury the past and move ahead with economic development.