KARACHI: Multiple bags carrying animal hides were recovered Friday night from two vehicles during a police operation in metropolis' Korangi area, Geo News reported.



According to Zulfiqar Lariq, the deputy inspector-general (DIG) for East, police found at least 40 bags filled with hides of animals such as dogs and donkeys during an operation in the Korangi Industrial Area.



Police had initially claimed that the hides were recovered from a warehouse but later changed their statement and remarked that the hides were recovered from two vehicles.

Moreover, the authorities took into custody four men who were present at the site. Of the four suspects held, cases have been registered against two. An Afghan national was among the suspects as well.

The investigation authorities revealed that the hides were to be sent to China through illegal routes, adding that hides are used to make cosmetics in China.

The authorities also said that the hides of donkeys and dogs were quite old. An investigation is being conducted to see what routes were taken to bring hides to Karachi, authorities remarked.

The suspects have confirmed that meat of the animals was still in Afghanistan.

On April 26, 2017, the police recovered 4,736 donkey hides from 592 sacks during an operation in a shop in Karachi’s Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 12.

One Chinese national and six others, including a woman, were arrested for involvement in the heinous crime. It was revealed that the hides were brought illegally from Lahore to be smuggled abroad.

There were about eight hides in one sack, revealed SSP West Faisal Abdul Chachar, adding that one hide is sold for approximately Rs25,000.