PEKANBARU • The Indonesian authorities have seized over 100 pangolins, all of them alive, an official said yesterday, a haul of the critically endangered species that conservationists estimate to be worth US$1.5 million (S$2 million).

Officials discovered the pangolins on Tuesday in a raid on a fishing boat off the east coast of Sumatra island, the navy said in a press statement. The authorities were tipped off by local residents, who said men were attempting to smuggle the scaly mammals to Malaysia.

Pangolins - docile animals with a thick armour - are indigenous to parts of South-east Asia and Africa, and are the world's most trafficked mammal.

Two men, aged 22 and 25, were arrested after they confessed they were paid money to transport the pangolins to Malaysia.

If found guilty, they could face up to five years in prison and a 100 million rupiah (S$10,000) fine for violating Indonesia's conservation law.

"We received 101 live pangolins seized by the navy yesterday (Tuesday) but four of them later died," said the head of a local conservation agency.

The pangolins will be released in the nearest national park, said Mr Mahfudz, who goes by one name.

Mr Dwi Adhiasto, from the Wildlife Conservation Society, which works with the Indonesian authorities to halt wildlife crime, said the shipment was worth about US$25,000 wholesale, but could fetch as much as US$1.5 million when sold internationally.

In June, naval officers discovered 223 live pangolins and 24 others that were already dead, as well as nine large bags of pangolin scales, in a warehouse near Medan, North Sumatra.

Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in China, and their scales are sometimes used in the production of crystal methamphetamine.

Soaring demand for the reclusive creature has seen an estimated one million pangolins snatched from Asian and African forests over the past decade, sending their numbers to perilous lows.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE