The Malaysian customs officers have seized almost 300 kilograms of pangolin scales being smuggled through the main airport, officials said on Tuesday.

The 288-kilogram (635 pound) haul was found at Kuala Lumpur International Airport last Friday in 12 boxes labelled as oyster shells on the waybill.

The scales worth around ($870,000) arrived from Ghana on a Turkish Airlines flight, the customs department said in a statement.

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The case is being investigated under Section 135(1) of the Customs Act 1967 for smuggling prohibited goods, as the importation of pangolin scales without a permit is illegal under Schedule Three of the International Trade Act on Threatened Species 2008.

Offenders could face a maximum fine up to20 times the value of the seized items or jail time not exceeding three years or both.

Pangolins are indigenous to the jungles of Indonesia, parts of Malaysia and areas of southern Thailand, and their meat is considered a delicacy in China.

Last month, the Malaysian Custom made its largest haul of such scales, 712 kilograms estimated at RM9.18m, which came from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Ghana.