Shenzhen Customs seize 11.9 tons of pangolin scales smuggled from Africa.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shenzhen Customs announced on Wednesday that it cracked a case of 11.9 tons of pangolin scales smuggled from Africa, the largest volume in any single case found by the country's customs.

The scales are estimated to come from at least 20,000 pangolins, a species listed in Appendix I at the 17th Congress of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna last year, which bans all international trade of pangolins and their products.

Two suspects in the case, surnamed Li, from East China's Shandong province and He, from East China's Anhui province, have been issued arrest warrants, said Chen Qunfang, deputy chief of Dapeng Customs affiliated with Shenzhen Customs.

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Pangolin scales smuggled from Africa are shown in this picture.[Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]