Yahoo – AFP, June 22, 2017
Thai wildlife officers have arrested a Malaysian man attempting to smuggle two baby orangutans, 51 tortoises and six raccoons into the kingdom across its southern border, officials said Thursday.
The tiny orangutans rescued at the Thai border were less than six months old (AFP Photo/Handout) |
Thai wildlife officers have arrested a Malaysian man attempting to smuggle two baby orangutans, 51 tortoises and six raccoons into the kingdom across its southern border, officials said Thursday.
The animals
were packed into plastic boxes and suitcases loaded into Ismail Bin Ahmad's
car, officials said.
The
63-year-old was stopped Wednesday as he was attempting to drive through a
border checkpoint in Thailand's southern Songkhla province -- part of an
insurgency-torn region known as a funnel for drugs, weapons and other
contraband.
"The
suspect said he was hired to transport the animals from (neighbouring) Perlis
state in Malaysia to Hat Yai (in Thailand) for 1,000 baht ($33 dollars),"
Prach Kongthong, a wildlife officer manning the checkpoint, told AFP.
The tiny
orangutans were less than six months old and will be transferred to a local
shelter, he added.
The seized
animals, including orangutans, were packed into suitcases and plastic
boxes
(AFP Photo/Handout)
|
Orangutans
are native to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra but they are often illegally
smuggled throughout mainland Southeast Asia, either for private zoos or as
pets.
Most of the
51 rescued reptiles were Indian star tortoises -- an endangered species from
South Asia coveted for its star-patterned shell.
Thailand
has long served as a transit hub for wildlife products bound for major markets
like Vietnam and China, where exotic animal parts are often used in folk
medicines.
Thai police
frequently seize trafficked animals and wildlife products but they usually only
catch low-level couriers, leaving the smuggling kingpins behind the lucrative
trade at large.
In December
Thai police rescued two baby orangutans in a sting operation that saw
undercover officers pose as buyers over a mobile phone messaging app.
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