Malaysian customs officials have seized 1,200 frozen pangolins headed for the cooking pot in Vietnam, a report said today.

The meat of the pangolin  a scaly ant-eater found in Asia and Africa  is believed to enhance a person's sex drive and its scales can be made into guitar plectrums, the New Straits Times said.

The carcasses of the pangolins, a protected species under the Wildlife Act, were found concealed in fish containers at Westport, customs deputy director-general Zaleha Hamzah told the newspaper.

The discovery was made after enforcement officers examined a container at an open space in the port, west of Kuala Lumpur, she said. No arrests were made. (AFP)