Seven suspects have been detained and more than 10 million yuan (US$1.2 million) seized in a sting operation on a wildlife smuggling ring in southwest China's Yunnan Province.

The seven were apprehended on suspicion of trading, processing and smuggling bear paws, pangolins and muntjacs which are on the nation's protected list, the Yunnan Forestry Public Security Bureau announced Wednesday.

The live animals seized by the forestry police will be released back into the wild. The dead ones and related products will be destroyed.

The suspected smugglers were caught in a suburb of Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province some days ago, said Qian Rongfa, vice-director of the bureau.

A large number of dead pangolins, bear paw products and muntjacs were also found there, said Qian.

Li Guoyong, a bureau officer who was part of the mission, said that other members of the ring remained at large and that efforts were being made to locate them.

"Local restaurants suspected of buying and selling the products from protected animals will also be targeted," he said.

Since Yunnan has abundant wildlife and a long border, it has become a major route for smugglers heading to neighboring countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam and Laos.

Qian stated that his bureau received tips from local residents as early as 2002, saying a man named Chen Gang was thought to be organizing people to carry out his business throughout the province.

Members of the ring were identified when local forestry officers combed a wild animal sales network in the province and frontier areas. Chen, a native of nearby Chongqing Municipality, was apprehended on June 1, Qian said.

After being detained, Chen confessed to trading and processing wild animals for many years. He said some of the protected animals or their products were sold in cities of China’s southern and eastern provinces.

Qian said that smugglers from other countries often trade in the area, introduced by counterparts in the province to hike their profits.

An owl worth 1.6 yuan (20 US cents) from foreign sellers can be sold for 1,500 yuan (US$180) on black markets in coastal areas of south and east China, CCTV reported.

While profiting from the trade of wild animals, wildlife smugglers often use high technology equipment to avoid being caught, making it difficult to crack down on them, Qian said.

He called for more advanced international partnerships to eradicate illegal cross-border trade.

"International collaborations in this field were carried out in the past but at a low level," he said, adding funds are short and an information-sharing system should be set up by neighboring countries.

Experts say that those who use protected animals as food should also be punished.

(China Daily June 10, 2004)