ROSTOV-ON-DON, August 3 (RIA Novosti) - Police in Astrakhan, south Russia, have destroyed more than 300 kg (661 lbs) of illegal black caviar, the regional administration reported on Monday.

"Two thousand tins of black caviar were crushed by a bulldozer and buried at the city dump," the administration said.

The caviar was seized in 2008 from an underground store, investigation officials said.

"An examination of the caviar indicated that although it was packed into branded tins with bright labels and considered ready for sale, it was a health risk," the Department of Internal Affairs reported.

On July 1, police burnt more then 250 kg (551 lbs) of contraband black caviar worth more then 30 million rubles ($960,000). The caviar infected with staphylococcus bacteria was seized from Moscow shops during a special police operation.

In 2007 Russia banned the harvest and sale of black caviar which extended the 2002 ban on commercial sturgeon fishing in the Caspian Sea.

The Caspian Sea sturgeon, caught in five coastal states (Russia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Iran) accounts for almost 90% of the world's black caviar. According to Russian experts, it will take at least 10 years to restore the sturgeon population in Russian waters.