Singapore authorities have seized an estimated 13 tons of pangolin scales worth $38.7 million - one of the largest shipments globally recorded for the critically endangered mammal.
Paul Thomas, Pangolin Specialist Group official, estimated that 36 000 pangolins had been killed for the shipment, which was en route to Vietnam.
The pangolin scales, which were packed with 177 kilograms of cut up and carved elephant ivory worth $88 500, were being transported in a 40-foot container passing through Singapore from Nigeria labelled ‘frozen beef’.
