Police have seized five frozen, dead tigers from a house in central Vietnam, according to official reports, in a country seen as the global hub for illegal wildlife trade.

Authorities reportedly found the tiger corpses with their organs removed inside a freezer at a house in the north central Nghe An province.

According to the deputy head of the Nghe An Provincial Police Department for the Environment, Tran Minh Son, the discovery was made during a raid on Monday following a tipoff, as the house’s owner was abroad.

He said that no arrests were made but added that an investigation into the grim discovery is ongoing.

“If we collect enough evidence, we will take criminal proceedings against the violator,” said Son.

According to Vietnam News Agency, the tigers were Indochinese and weighed around 100kg to 150kg each, without internal organs.

Tigers, which are endangered worldwide, are sometimes illegally trafficked from Vietnamese tiger farms for use in East Asian traditional medicine.

In Vietnam, tiger bones are usually boiled down and combined with rice wine, which is believed to help with healing arthritis and give strength to the drinker.

Tiger paste is also used to treat other ailments such as headaches.

A kilogram of pure tiger bone paste can sell for up to $US5,000 ($A6,489) on the black market.

– with other agencies