INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image:Pangolin: The most trafficked mammal in the worldA record eight tonnes of pangolin scales and more than 1,000 elephant tusks have been
seized from a shipping container in Hong Kong, officials say.The container, from Nigeria and said to be carrying frozen beef, was searched
Two arrests were made, officials say.The scales of the pangolin, an endangered anteater, are said to have medicinal value in parts of
Asia.Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Customs officers in Hong Kong said the shipment contained 8,300kg of pangolin
scales (left)
They have previously been smuggled into countries from Africa in huge quantities, with the pangolin thought to
be the world's most trafficked mammal
On Friday, Hong Kong customs officers said they had seized some 8,300kg of pangolin scales and 2,100kg of ivory tusks hidden inside the
container, AFP news agency reports.They added that the shipment, which was bound for Vietnam, was "a record quantity for a seizure of
Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Pangolins are sought after for the unproven medicinal properties of their scales
A man and a woman from a trading company were arrested in Hong Kong, the customs department said.These unusual-looking creatures are
the world's most scaly animal
All eight species are endangered because they are hunted for their scales and meat - and are now protected under international law.The
scales, which are made from nothing more than keratin, the same material that makes up human fingernails and hair, are sought after for
their unproven medicinal properties.Some 100,000 pangolins are snatched every year from the wild and sent to Vietnam and China.This has led
to their numbers falling drastically.
