Customs in Guangdong smashes international bird's nest smuggling ring

Customs officers have seized more than 160 metric tons of smuggled bird's nests worth about 2 billion yuan ($298 million) in a special operation.

The smuggled bird's nests were estimated to have dodged taxes valued at more than 320 million yuan, according to a statement released by Shantou Customs in the eastern part of Guangdong province on Friday.

The special operation codenamed "1901" that involved more than 200 customs and police officers was launched simultaneously in Shantou, Guangzhou and Shenzhen in Guangdong province and Nanning, Pingxiang in the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region in the early morning on Thursday after several months of investigations, the statement said.