KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN authorities on Saturday said they have rescued nearly 100 pangolins and arrested a man attempting to smuggle the protected species, destined to be sold to restaurants and medicine shops.

Officials from the Department of Wildlife and National Parks raided a house in northern Kedah state on Thursday and seized 98 of the animals, the department's enforcement chief Saharudin Anan told AFP.

Three kilogrammes of pangolin scales were also found in the house, he added.

'We believe the animals were destined to be sold to Asian countries for their meat, as well as their scales to be used as traditional medicine,' Mr Saharudin said.

'The man, in his 40s and self-employed, will be charged in court for five different charges of illegal possession of the totally protected species and he faces up to 23 years in jail and (a) fine if convicted,' the official added.

Pangolins are indigenous to the jungle of Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and areas of southern Thailand, with its meat considered a delicacy in China.

It is classified as a protected species under the UN's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.

Wildlife officials have said pangolins face a serious threat from poachers and smugglers in South-east Asia with inadequate punishment and lack of information encouraging the burgeoning trade.

A senior official with the Association of South-east Asian Nations Wildlife Enforcement Network said in March the main route for smuggling Pangolins is from Indonesia to Malaysia and then through Thailand to Laos or Vietnam, which border China. -- AFP