A mother and her son have been detained by police in southwest China's Yunnan Province for smuggling 219 products made from protected animals, local police said Thursday.
The Mangshi forest police received tip-offs on the smugglers from the public in July, they said in a statement.
Police found the suspects were owners of a shop selling wood carvings. After three weeks of investigation, a woman surnamed Huang, her son and nephew were arrested by police.
A total of 219 tiger bones, rhino horns, ivory products and African lion paws were seized. Combined value exceeded 1.39 million yuan (about 220,000 U.S. dollars).
"I have worked 20 years in the police, and I've never seen such a large quantity of trafficked wild life parts. Some are made from endangered animals," said Hu Jiaguo, deputy director of Mangshi forest police bureau.
Police say the parts and products were smuggled from other countries to sell to Chinese buyers. Further investigation is underway.
Smuggling parts of protected wild life can result in a prison sentence from five to ten years.
