A man suspected of trafficking wildlife was arrested after seven frozen tigers were found in a car in a Hanoi car park, Vietnam's state-run media reported on Friday. Nguyen Huu Hue, who allegedly illegally imported animals from neighboring Laos for years, was arrested on Thursday with two other people, according to Cong An Nhan Dan .
"Hue has set up a business [...] that sells construction materials to cover the illegal trade in tigers and other wildlife," writes Cong An Nhan Dan , the official body of the Ministry of Public Security. Nguyen Huu Hue is accused of having tigers stocked with poor families, the paper adds.
The article does not specify whether felines were killed in their natural environment or if they come from one of the many illegal tiger farms in Laos, which provide much of the Asian demand for tiger meat and bones . The seven animals appear to be babies, according to the photographs of the seizure.
An animal prized by traditional medicine
Vietnam is both a center of consumption and a hub for trafficking wildlife to China, from tigers to elephant tusks to pangolins and rhinoceros horns. Parts of the tiger are used for traditional medicine and jewelery in Vietnam, where the once large population of this big cat has declined sharply.
His bones are usually boiled and mixed with rice alcohol to produce an elixir that is supposed to cure osteoarthritis and build strength, beliefs disputed by doctors. Hanoi has long been committed to combating animal smuggling, but conservationists believe the black market continues because of failed controls.