China Customs officials seize bear paws

A total of 213 smuggled bear paws confiscated by China's Customs officials are shown in Manzhouli of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region on June 17, 2013. The bear paws were smuggled from Russia and discovered in the tires of a Russian passenger van trying to enter China.

To date, this is the biggest bear paw smuggling case in China. Two Russian suspects have been detained by police, and are awaiting trial. In Russia, a kilogram of bear paws are worth about 2,000 rubles, about 400 RMB, but the price in China for the same amount is usually over 5,000 yuan per kg due to Chinese people's appetite demands as they believe bear paws have a high nutritional value