By Margaret Wong
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, Oct. 19, 2000; 1:08 p.m. EDT

HONG KONG –– Inspectors discovered 26 illegal immigrants from mainland China hiding in a shipping container bound for the United States after instruments showed carbon dioxide emanating from the container, authorities said Thursday.

The men got into the container in Hong Kong and were due to be shipped out Friday en route to Long Beach, Calif., Customs and Excise Department spokesman Peter Tiu said.

He was not immediately able to identify the company that tried to send the container, which was in a terminal waiting to be loaded onto a ship when authorities found the human cargo.

The young men inside had suffered no injuries. Authorities said they had basic necessities – drinks, canned food, instant noodles, blankets and clothing. Hui Chiu-chun, a divisional commander of the customs department, said six movable wooden planks in the floor had provided ventilation.

The immigrants were believed to have come from mainland China's Fujian Province.

Dozens of illegal immigrants are believed to have passed through Hong Kong undetected. Hong Kong authorities say they have increased efforts to stop the trade, including using hand-held carbon dioxide detectors to help inspectors find signs of life.

Customs spokeswoman Bess Chow said Wednesday's case marked the first time officials had found illegal migrants in a container in Hong Kong.

"This case showed that the frequent inspections by our custom officers are capable of discovering such incidents," said Secretary for Security Regina Ip. Ip said there had been 11 cases of human smuggling detected in the United States and Canada this year, and six were the result of tip-offs from Hong Kong customs officers.

Many immigrant smugglers, known as "snakeheads," are based in mainland China, where they charge people huge fees to transport them to the West.

Some immigrants have died in transit. Fifty-eight Chinese immigrants were found dead in June inside an airtight refrigeration truck arriving in Dover, England, from the Netherlands. Three people were found dead aboard a ship intercepted in Seattle in January.

The immigrants found in Hong Kong were being held by police Thursday, but no other arrests were immediately made, police spokeswoman Cynthia Au said.

Chris Patten, the former governor of Hong Kong who is now foreign affairs chief for the European Union, said EU and Asian leaders meeting in Seoul this week should cooperate to fight the illegal trafficking of people across borders – focusing on "practical ways" to stop the illegal trade of people from China.

Chinese Premier Zhu Rongji, however, said the human smuggling is the work of international crime syndicates, and that some of the criminals may be from Hong Kong.