BANGKOK - Thai customs officials today said they had confiscated 509 pangolins sent from Malaysia and believed destined for China in their second major seizure of the scaly ant-eaters in less than a week.

The animals were intercepted at Bangkok's international airport as part of a crackdown on trafficking in the wild animals, which are considered a delicacy in China and other countries and prized for their use in traditional medicine.

Last week another consignment of 288 pangolins, also sent from Malaysia and bound for China via the Lao capital Vientiane, was seized at Bangkok's cargo terminal.

A customs official said the latest haul was packed in boxes marked as containing turtles.

"We found them in 102 boxes originating from Kuala Lumpur and transiting here on their way to Vientiane," he said.

Trafficking in the animals is expected to increase as the cold season approaches in China, he said. Pangolin blood is consumed there in the belief it helps keep the body warm and enhance sexual performance.

Wildlife poaching is rampant in much of Southeast Asia, driven in large measure by the insatiable Chinese appetite for exotic dishes and faith in traditional medicines that use ingredients from the animals.

More than a thousand pangolins were seized by Thai authorities last year and they were also presumed to be bound for China. - AFP