Three prohibited specimens smuggled into China from Malaysia have been seized in Chengdu, Sichuan province.

Two butterflies and one scorpion smuggled into China from Malaysia are seized in Chengdu, Sichuan province. [Photo by Huang Zhiling/chinadaily.com.cn]

"They are two butterflies and one scorpion, which were found in express mail during a routine check," said Chen Bingyu, an information officer from the Sichuan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

While checking express mail in the international express mail center at the Shuangliu International Airport in Chengdu on Thursday, employees from the bureau and Chengdu Customs found the specimens for a private collector.

"The specimens did not receive the quarantine certificate from Malaysia and are considered items that are prohibited to enter another country. They will be returned to the sender or destroyed in order to prevent the spread of possible diseases to China," Chen said.

It is again the time of year for the buying spree as Spring Festival is around the corner.

Chen's bureau and Chengdu Customs advise buyers not to take or send items prohibited in another country, such as meat, sea food, dairy products, vegetables, edible bird's nest, fruit, seeds, nursery-grown plants, blood products, organs, soil, tortoise shell and red coral.

Since the mid-1990s, the invasion of alien species has done great harm to China's ecosystem, biodiversity, agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fisheries, according to Chen Hai, chief of the airport office of the Sichuan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

"At least 400 alien species of animals, plants and microorganisms have invaded China. Of the globe's 100 most dangerous alien species on the list of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, more than 50 have invaded China," he said.