Police in Indonesia’s North Sumatra province today seized 91 pangolins set to be smuggled to Malaysia, a report said.

Police stopped a boat carrying the pangolins in waters off the port of Belawan and arrested its four crew members, according to the Detik.com news website.

Nine of the mammals found on the boat were dead, North Sumatra marine police chief Tubuh Musyareh was quoted as saying.

Tubuh said the pangolins were worth an estimated 400 million rupiah (about US$30,000).

The critically endagered Sunda pangolin is one of the most illegally trafficked species internationally.

It is mainly hunted for its skin, scales, and meat for use in clothing and traditional medicine.

- dpa