Borderguards nab two Chinese with three tiger hides in Primorye.

15/4 Tass 155

VLADIVOSTOK, April 15 (Itar-Tass) - Borderguards detained two Chinese
citizens near the village of Kamen-Rybolov, Primorye Territory, with three
hides of Amur tigers, recorded in the International Red Book, Itar-Tass
learnt on Thursday from officer of the Primorye borderguard branch of the
Russian Federal Security Service Natalya Rondaleva.
One transgressor was detained after a long chase and warning shooting
1.5 kilometres away from the main engineering installations.
Borderguards found precisely on him the hides of two grownup tigers, a
baby tiger and skeleton fragments of two cats which are also recorded in
the Red Book. The second transgressor was seized 800 metres from the
border, and borderguards are sure that he is also implicated in smuggling
the hides and tiger skeletons.
The two Chinese were brought now to an investigation ward in the
village of Kamen-Rybolov for interrogations. By their results, authorities
will take a decision on starting a criminal case against the transgressors
in connection with illegal hunting, smuggling of the derivatives and an
attempt of illegal crossing of the state border.
Russian borderguards had a meeting with the Chinese side, at which
they called on their colleagues to take all possible measures to track
down masterminds of smugglers.
Around 450-500 Amur tigers live now free in the Primorye and
Khabarovsk territories. Poachers are the main threat for rare wildlife.
They find customers for beautiful hides and for bones, used in oriental
medicine in neighbouring China.
-0-bur/gor