Beijing Customs cracked down on a carrier pigeon smuggling ring from Belgium which was worth an estimated $16 million.

A suspect, Zhang Qiwen, is believed to have imported 2,684 carrier pigeons through a trade company in July this year from three suppliers in Belgium, Beijing Evening News reported.

Zhang declared the deal to customs but claimed that each of the imported carrier pigeons was worth $23 and the total value was $61,732.

However, according to Customs, Zhang used invoices from the shipper in Belgium, claiming a much lower value to evade taxes.

The estimated value of evaded taxes was 30 million yuan ($4.92 million).

China has millions of carrier pigeon fans, who raise more than 80 million carrier pigeons.

Buying and selling these pigeons, especially those from overseas, is a lucrative trade, the report said.