Police officers in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province apologized for the wrongful arrest of two hotel guests on charges of baby trafficking after staff mistook the bleating sounds of their pet lambs for the cries of an infant, media reported on Wednesday.

The two men, surnamed Chen and Xu, arrived at the hotel with a huge container from which employees said they heard crying.

The pair explained that it was their "pet." Fearing they heard the cries of an infant, curious hotel staff decided to do some eavesdropping.

"I heard one of them ask 'is it dead?' The other answered 'it's fine.' Then I heard crying," said one employee. Staff soon called police.

Officers from the Xiying Lu station broke down the door with guns drawn to find the men with a box containing two lambs.

Xu, a resident of Chongqing, said that he bought the lambs in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region as a gift for his child. As they could not take the lambs on board a flight or train, they bought bus tickets with a stopover in Xi'an.

Chinese Business View