MOSCOW, September 29 (RAPSI) – A court in Russia’s Primorsky Krai will consider a criminal case against three foreign nationals charged with smuggling paws of Amur tigers and Himalayan bears, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office reports.

Depending on alleged role and involvement in the crime the defendants are charged with illegal catching and sale of red-listed animals and animal paws smuggling attempt, the statement reads.

Investigators claim in November 2019, the two accused arrived in Russia and came to a fellow countryman who had earlier bought on their request two paws of Amur tigers and 44 paws of Himalayan bears. The accomplices planned to transfer the animals’ parts through the Russian border but were arrested.