KUNMING, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- Border police in southwest China's Yunnan Province recently captured a suspect for smuggling nine buffalos, local police said Sunday.

After receiving a tip-off, police in the China-Vietnam border county of Maguan found a man herding three buffalos in Jinchang Township at around 6 p.m. on Nov. 8. The man was unable to provide legitimate inspection and quarantine certificates for the buffalos upon the request of police officers. Six more smuggled buffalos were seized later on the same day.

The suspect confessed that he smuggled the buffalos from Vietnam into Yunnan, according to the local public security department.

Further investigation into the case is underway.

In recent years, a series of cases of smuggling cattle, chicken feet, and beef from Vietnam have occurred in Maguan. Local police have been stepping up efforts to crack down on such cases.