Rare frogs saved from smugglers in S China

NANNING - A total of 5,326 smuggled rare frogs have been seized in South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, local customs authorities said Saturday.

Fifty-four boxes of Indian bullfrogs were seized from a van on the No. 322 National Highway in the border city of Pingxiang on June 20 after they had been smuggled from Vietnam, according to sources with the Pingxiang branch of the Nanning Customs District.

Meanwhile, 66 boxes of another kind of frog under regional protection were also seized from the vehicle, the sources said.

Two suspects were arrested and the frogs have been sent to the local forestry department.

The Indian Bullfrog is found in wetlands of South and Southeast Asia. It is listed as a second-class state-protected animal in China.