Thai cops seize record three tons of pangolin scales

BANGKOK: Thai customs police on Thursday unveiled a massive three-ton cache of seized pangolin scales intended for Asia's lucrative wildlife markets, where feverish demand for the 'scaly anteater' has turned it into the most trafficked mammal on earth.

The shy pangolin's brown scales are made of nothing more than keratin—the same substance as fingernails—but are highly prized in Vietnam and China where they are misleadingly touted as bearing medicinal properties.