Chinese customs officials raid gang allegedly smuggling thousands of protected butterflies
About 2,800 butterfly specimens shipped from Southeast Asia confiscated during crackdown in which four suspected smugglers detained in Shandong province
Chinese customers officers confiscated about 2,800 butterfly specimens reportedly smuggled into the country, with half of them rare and protected species that are restricted from being traded by an international treaty, state media reports.
The operation involving law enforcement officers in the city of Jinan, in Shandong province, led to a shipment of about 2,800 butterflies allegedly sent from Southeast Asia being intercepted, together with the detention of four suspected members of a cross-border smuggling ring, the official Xinhua news agency reported on Wednesday.
Among the butterfly specimens seized by customs in packages shipped from countries such as Malaysia and Indonesia were 1,180 rare types, which are protected by the international treaty and require special licences if they are imported and exported.
An investigation began before the Chinese Lunar New Year holiday after customs officials in Jinan found 261 allegedly endangered butterfly specimens inside a parcel from Malaysia, which according to the attached declaration form contained “dresses”.