BUKIT KAYU HITAM: An attempt to smuggle 55 live pangolins and 25kg of pangolin scales worth RM170,000 into Thailand has been foiled by the Kedah Border Control Agency (Aksem) on Tuesday.
The agency had also detained a 45-year-old Thai national.
State commander Abd Latif Abd Rahman said the man was asked to pull over his vehicle for a check around 2pm at KM1.3 of the North-South Expressway.
"Checks in the car boot saw some netted sacks which contained the pangolins and baby pangolins and five bags filled with pangolin scales.
"Our initial investigation revealed that the man was attempting to smuggle them into Thailand.
"We believed that the pangolins were meant for the Thai market and could also be exported to China," he told a press conference here.
He added that the seized pangolins and the scales would be handed over to the state Department of Wildlife and National Parks for further action.
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