Police in Vietnam have recovered two tiger carcasses from a freezer in a man's home. He and another man have been arrested on charges of illegally trading in the endangered species. Tigers once roamed Vietnam's forests, but they are now almost entirely extinct in the country's forests.

The Southeast Asian country is known as a major consumer of illegal wildlife products and a popular trafficking route. Tiger bone in particular is in great demand for use in traditional medicine. Police in Thanh Hoa province, south of the capital Hanoi, said two adult tiger carcasses were found in a freezer kept in the basement of the home of 52-year-old Hoang Dinh Dat. The two tigers weighed about 400 kg (882 pounds).

A police statement published online said that under questioning Dat admitted buying the two tigers for two billion dong (US$77,000). He named 31-year-old Nguyen Doan Son as the seller.

Police said the two men were arrested earlier this week. The statement added that equipment for making so-called "tiger bone glue", a glue made from tiger bones, was also found at the buyer's home. Locally it is believed to be effective in treating joint pain and various skeletal ailments.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.