Shipped by air and processed as simple bones were declared by Customs Enforcement Teams as the goods could be considered risky, the ministry said in a written statement.

Suspected that the bones in question could belong to an animal banned from trading, teams contacted the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

A review by experts from the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks found that the goods are scales belonging to pangolin, which are endangered and banned from trading under international conventions.

The seized 1,217 kilograms of pangolin scales were handed over to police officials.

Experts of the subject estimated that the market value of scales is about 8,5 million liras in Turkey while believed to be about $3 million in the Asian market.

Approximately 1 million pangolins were smuggled internationally in 2000-2016, according to data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Pangolin, which is also recorded as the most commonly trafficked wild mammal, is on the IUCN's endangered species list. (ILKHA)