More than a third of the smuggling cases heard by a Beijing court in the past three years have involved wild animals or wildlife products.

Beijing No 4 Intermediate People's Court handles all smuggling cases in the capital. In a report released Thursday, it said 28 of the 84 cases heard between Jan 1, 2015, and Sept 30 this year involved wildlife products.

Most defendants were accused of smuggling products such as ivory, rhino horn and pangolin skins, said Rong Peng, the court's vice-president.

"Many criminals put the products in milk powder cans or water bottles in their luggage, or even concealed them on their bodies," he said.

Defendants often worked overseas and purchased the products before returning to China, according to Rong, who added, "A small number of them bought the products for friends and their own use, but most aimed to sell them at a profit."

In the nine drug smuggling cases heard by the court over the same period, eight defendants were foreigners, including seven from Africa, the report said.

The court added that the drugs were concealed in clothing or sent in international parcels.