China’s coast guard stopped a ship smuggling crocodile leather in the waters off of Fangchenggang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region on Feb. 7.

At about 3 a.m., members of the China Coast Guard spotted a suspicious, unidentified ship carrying a selection of foam boxes. After inspection, they found that the ship was carrying 1,609 pieces of crocodile hide, as well as 506.5 kilograms of what was suspected to be crocodile meat. Each piece of leather was about 1.4 meters long.

According to the owner of the ship, a Fangchenggang local, he was hired to transport the goods from a port in Vietnam to Fangchenggang. He said he was unaware of the contents of the boxes he was transporting.

Crocodiles are an endangered and protected species in China. According to Chinese criminal law, smuggling crocodiles and crocodile products is a criminal act.