Thai police seized about 1.4 tonnes of pangolin scales, worth about 50 million baht, from a truck in the north-eastern province of Kalasin on Wednesday, as it was heading for Mukdahan province to be smuggled through Laos and into China.

Pol Col Ariyaphol Sinsorn, deputy commander of the Natural Resources and Environment Crime Division, said that the seizure was the result of cooperation between the Thai police and the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

He said that Thai and US investigators had tracked the movements of the smugglers for some time before they decided to arrest the truck driver and his assistant.

The driver reportedly told the police that he was hired for 20,000 baht to drive the truck, containing 42 bags, to Mukdahan province, while his assistant was paid 7,000 baht.

Prasert Sornsathapornkul, director of the Wildlife and Plant Protection Division, estimated that over 4,000 pangolins had been slaughtered in order to get the estimated 1,400kg of scales.

Pangolin scales are parts of a protected wildlife species under Thai law and their trade and possession are banned under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES).

Pangolin scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine to help with ailments ranging from lactation difficulties to arthritis. The scales are typically dried and ground into a powder, which may be turned into pills.

Pangolins are the most trafficked mammals in the world. Their meat is considered a delicacy, while their scales are used in traditional Chinese medicine.