A fraud ring in China is accused of stealing at least 4,000 bodies to use the bones for dental transplants.
The criminals stole corpses from crematoria for further delivery to two Chinese companies.
The bodies were sold for cremation to one of China's largest biomaterials companies, the South China Morning Post reports.
Body snatching
Shanxi provincial prosecutors are investigating the theft of more than 4,000 bodies from crematoriums and medical laboratories.
Dozens of suspects have been detained as part of the investigation.
The owners and operators of Shanxi Osteorad Biomaterial Co. and Sichuan Hengpu Technology Co. are suspected of illegally purchasing thousands of cadavers and making billions in profits from 2015-2023.
Police found that the bones were used to make dental transplants.
The fraudulent activity brought the defendants fabulous income.
During the investigation, more than 18 tons of bones and 34 thousand semi-finished and finished products were discovered and seized.
Crematorium workers dismembered the bodies for ease of delivery and processing at the factory.
According to the prosecutor's office, human corpses were transported, stored and used as materials for bone grafting procedures.
