Beijing, Dec 24 (IANS): Customs authorities in China's Fujian province seized 3,022 crocodile skins illegally shipped from Taiwan, officials said Wednesday.

The customs' investigation found that two Taiwanese businessmen imported the skins from Singapore, dyed them in Taiwan and paid a logistics company to ship the skins to China, Xinhua reported.

A Fujian-based company was commissioned by the logistics company to clear the goods at Xiamen city customs.

The crocodile skins, often used as material for luxury handbags, were scheduled to be sent to Guangzhou, a major trading hub for leather products.

The Fujian company was found to have helped the logistics company traffic two batches of 1,694 crocodile skins in May and June.

The case has been handed over to prosecutors.

The crocodile is listed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), meaning that it was "not necessarily threatened with extinction", but "trade must be controlled" to avoid over-exploitation.