Chinese customs officers rescue 806 Siamese crocodiles, 2,735 macaques in raids on smuggling gangs
- 100,000 dried seahorses also recovered in strikes in Guangxi and Guangdong
- At least 35 people detained, 14 of them Vietnamese who entered country illegally, state media reports
Customs officers in southern China rescued 806 Siamese crocodiles and more than 2,700 crab-eating macaques in separate raids on smuggling gangs operating in the region, according to state media.
At least 35 people were detained in the strikes, which also recovered about 100,000 dried seahorses, China News Service reported on Thursday, citing the customs authority in Nanning, capital of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.
The crocodiles were discovered during a raid last month in the coastal city of Fangchenggang. They had been packed into 158 wooden boxes and their mouths had been bound with duct tape, the report said.
Officers involved said the passive behaviour of the reptiles suggested they had been kept in cramped conditions for some time. They were later transferred to an animal protection facility.
A total of 16 people, 14 of them Vietnamese who had entered China illegally, were detained, the report said.