Customs officers in Manzhouli, a city on the Russian border, confiscated jade worth millions of yuan and caught five suspects in an anti-smuggling bust, a radio report said.
Inspectors seized 4.28 tons of jade worth nearly 2.14 million yuan (US$348,178) in what was described as the largest bust of its kind in the last decade, China National Radio reported yesterday.
Manzhouli, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, is the busiest land port of entry from Russia to China and one of the most prosperous cities in northeastern China. Russian white jade is known for its high quality and has become popular among domestic buyers who regard it as a replacement for hotan jade, considered the world's finest jade, the report said.
The lucrative business has attracted many people, but some don't want to pay the high taxes and risk smuggling it to China, China National Radio said. Smugglers often tie the jade around their waist and legs, or hide it in modified vehicles, the report said.
In 2012, inspectors confiscated 64 kilograms of jade in 10 smuggling cases.
Smuggling of precious animal parts is also common in Manzhouli.
In June 2010, two Russian men were seized by Chinese police for smuggling 15 brown bear paws into China. They were worth about 93,900 yuan, reported Xinhua news agency.
Bear paws are considered a delicacy in some parts of the country and are also used in traditional medicine.
Hunting or trading in brown bear body parts is illegal.
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