Endangered wildlife under the first level of Chinese national protection, including lizards, rare tortoises, sea turtle and sea snakes with the total weight of 365 kilograms, were rescued after being smuggled into south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region recently.  

The smuggled wild animals were detected on a passenger bus running on the highway between Dongxing city to neighboring Guangdong province last Saturday by the Dongxing city anti-smuggling bureau. Four suspected smugglers were captured on the spot and the passenger bus was confiscated.

According to the preliminary investigation, the endangered wild animals had been smuggled in from abroad and carried across the Chinese border through camouflaged, illegal channels.

As these animals were still alive when seized, they were immediately transported to the nearby wild animal medical services centers for rescuing medical treatment. Currently, details of the case are under investigation.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2003)