GUANGZHOU, Sept. 21 (Xinhua) -- Twelve suspects have been arrested for smuggling products made from endangered animals, police in south China's Guangdong Province said.

In a joint operation, police in the cities of Zhanjiang, Shenzhen, and Maoming busted four smuggling rings and seized animal products that weighed about 401 tons and with an estimated value of 470 million yuan (about 68 million U.S. dollars).

The products include 794 nautilus shells, 43 skins of African rock pythons, seven leopard skins, and one lizard specimen.

According to a preliminary investigation, the main suspects of the case have confessed to smuggling the products.?