A Japanese man has been detained after trying to fly to Tokyo from Beijing carrying dinosaur fossils designated as cultural assets by the Chinese government, a Japanese Embassy official said Friday.  

The unidentified man was apprehended at Beijing Capital International Airport on Tuesday on charges of trying to smuggle cultural assets.

Customs officials found him carrying 217 fossil pieces, including the skull of a small-sized bird dinosaur, the Beijing News reported Thursday.

(China Daily November 21, 2004)