Inspection officers at the Johannesburg airport in South Africa discovered a massive haul of lion bones bones on Oct. 3, 2019.

12 boxes of bones

The country's environment ministry told CNN that a whopping 342kg of bones were seized at the O.R. Tambo International Airport.

The remains of the big cats were found stuffed into 12 boxes wrapped in aluminium foil.

The boxes were misdeclared, which was why the illegal shipment was then pulled in for inspection.

Three men were arrested in connection with the shipment — two of them from Zimbabwe, and the third from Congo.

One suspect is still in custody, reported BBC.

A lion's skeleton averages around 9kg, which means that 342kg of bones would amount to roughly 38 lions.

It is uncertain if the bones came from lions in the wild or those in captivity.

Lion farms in South Africa

According to BBC, over 6,000 lion skeletons were exported to from South Africa to Asia in the last 10 years.

In Asia, lion bones are reportedly prized in Traditional Chinese Medicine as an alternative to tiger bones.

This has led to the development of lucrative lion farms in South Africa, which non-profits estimate to hold and breed 8,000 lions or more.

Additionally, South Africa legalises the export of bones from these captive-bred lions under a quota system, further fuelling demand for the product.

Meanwhile, a study showed that wild lion populations in South Africa are only around 2,000, a number which is fast diminishing.

Top photo from Tambako the Jaguar / Flickr