A wildlife monitoring group says Malaysian authorities have seized a record 30 tons of pangolin and pangolin products in eastern Sabah state, the biggest such bust in the country.

The monitoring network Traffic says Sabah police this month uncovered two major pangolin processing facilities, throwing a spotlight on Sabah's role in the sourcing and trafficking of the endangered scaly mammal.

Sabah police said over the weekend they had seized three refrigerated containers containing 1,800 boxes filled with frozen pangolins, another 572 frozen pangolins in separate freezers, 61 live pangolins and 361 kilograms of pangolin scales. A 35-year-old Malaysian has been detained.

Traffic said in a statement received Tuesday that in total, Sabah has been implicated in over 40 tons of pangolin smuggling since August 2017.