Silchar (Assam), Oct 22 (IANS): Two people were arrested here with 144 kg of pangolin skin worth Rs.87 lakh that was being smuggled to China via Myanmar, custom officials said Saturday.

"Five bags of the skin were recovered Friday night from a Guwahati-Aizawl passenger bus," customs superintendent Sudip Kumar Datta told reporters here.

The customs officials found the contraband from the bus bound for Mizoram capital Aizawl at Sonabari Ghat in southern Assam, 400 km south of Assam's main city of Guwahati.

The detainees -- Lalengliana, 44 and Malneichauna, 41 -- said they were residents of Mizoram, Datta said.

The skin was brought from southern Indian states to be smuggled to China via Myanmar, which shares a 404 km unfenced border with Mizoram.

Custom officials also recovered 21,100 kyat (Myanmarese currencies) from the two. They were produced before a local court here Saturday and sent to jail for seven days.

"Charges would be framed against the two under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972," the official said.

According to wildlife experts, pangolins and their skin are in great demand in China because their meat is considered a delicacy and some people believe pangolin scales reduce swelling, promote blood circulation and help in lactation among young mothers.

Pangolin skin is also being used in the traditional medicines in China.