Guwahati: A huge quantity of pangalin scales has been seized by the team of Assam Rifles on Monday from the Mizoram-Myanmar border near Melbuk.
According to reports, the paramilitary group carried out an operation in the Melbuk area based on intelligence inputs and recovered 44 kg of pangolin scales.
The suspected market value of the confiscated contraband is Rs. 44 lakhs which were being transported from Aizawl to Zokhawthar.
Meanwhile, two persons, identified as Lalmuankima and Isaac, for allegedly smuggling pangolin scales, were eventually turned over to the customs officials in Zokhawthar.
Although keratin, the substance that makes up fingernails, hair, and horn, is present in pangolin scales, there is no evidence that they have any medical use.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has designated pangolin as a “Vulnerable to Critically Endangered” species and added it to Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.