Foreigner Arrested For Wildlife Trafficking At Suvarnabhumi

[george]

Japanese arrested for wildlife trafficking through Bangkok airport

BANGKOK: -- A Japanese man has been arrested for trying to smuggle slow lorises out of Thailand through Bangkok's new international airport, a wildlife group and an official said Saturday.

The suspect, 34-year-old Yogohari Takashi, was apprehended Friday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport for concealing nine slow lorises along with one Malayan snail-eating turtle, both protected species under Thai law, in his luggage, WildAid Thailand said in a statement.

Nirat Nipanan, the anti-wildlife trafficking chief at the airport, confirmed the arrest.

"The suspect was handed over to the police and he has bailed himself out," Nirat said.

Takashi confessed to buying the slow lorises at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, where a number of endangered species are on sale, at 6,000 baht (; €129) per animal, WildAid said.

It was the third time this year that slow lorises have been confiscated en route from Thailand to Japan.

Nirat said the suspect faces charges of smuggling protected animals out of the country and could face the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a 40,000 baht (US$1,099; €858) fine.

--iht.com 2006-11-04

[isaanbrit]

40,000 baht fine OR 3 years in jail. What a joke.

40,000 baht is nothing to pay for three years of life. The sad thing is that the only people who would therefore be stung by this is poor Thais who couldnt afford 40,000 baht.

The evidence is right here - if your poor, you go to prison.

What a joke!!!

[sriracha john]

Comments from a slow loris:

[Lusifer]

This is so typical,,,

when something bad happend,, Japanese are considered as "Foreingners"

if they are heading to public park or have some i.e visa thing's, they care considered as "Asians" and so get Thai like price\treatment.

when headline is Foreigner,,,it's alost every time thought that is some farang again,,,,

headline would not sell so much if it would be JAPANESE MAN arrested.........

when it come to bail,, 40G...they spend that in few hrs in karaoke any how,,

to protect wild life in thailand,, there should be same treatment than in Drug's,, im sure that would help.

Japanese arrested for wildlife trafficking through Bangkok airport

BANGKOK: -- A Japanese man has been arrested for trying to smuggle slow lorises out of Thailand through Bangkok's new international airport, a wildlife group and an official said Saturday.

The suspect, 34-year-old Yogohari Takashi, was apprehended Friday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport for concealing nine slow lorises along with one Malayan snail-eating turtle, both protected species under Thai law, in his luggage, WildAid Thailand said in a statement.

Nirat Nipanan, the anti-wildlife trafficking chief at the airport, confirmed the arrest.

"The suspect was handed over to the police and he has bailed himself out," Nirat said.

Takashi confessed to buying the slow lorises at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, where a number of endangered species are on sale, at 6,000 baht (; €129) per animal, WildAid said.

It was the third time this year that slow lorises have been confiscated en route from Thailand to Japan.

Nirat said the suspect faces charges of smuggling protected animals out of the country and could face the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a 40,000 baht (US$1,099; €858) fine.

--iht.com 2006-11-04

[Briggsy]

The fine becomes even more paltry when you consider the profit he would have made selling them in Japan if they survived the flight. What a goon.

Where are those 'shaming photos' when you need them?

[Tony Clifton]

One of these morons will one day carry a sick animal to his own country, wipe out most of it's population and and become himself member of an endangered species.

[sriracha john]

In the same manner that humans are quite different from one specimen to the next, a different slow loris had comments quite a bit rougher than what his genteel cousin voiced earlier:

[guardian]

For those of you who see sriracha john's posting of pictures of this mammal and thinking about how cute they are and want to buy one yourself, think twice.

Slow loris (Nycticebus coucang)

Glands on the inside of their elbows secrete a toxin that smells like sweaty socks. They cover their babies in the toxin to protect them from predators, and put it in their mouths to give themselves a venomous bite, delivering the toxin via their lower incisors.

Source

[Tony Clifton]

When is Thaksin's birthday?

[bkkmadness]

This is so typical,,,

when something bad happend,, Japanese are considered as "Foreingners"

if they are heading to public park or have some i.e visa thing's, they care considered as "Asians" and so get Thai like price\treatment.

when headline is Foreigner,,,it's alost every time thought that is some farang again,,,,

headline would not sell so much if it would be JAPANESE MAN arrested.........

when it come to bail,, 40G...they spend that in few hrs in karaoke any how,,

to protect wild life in thailand,, there should be same treatment than in Drug's,, im sure that would help.

Japanese arrested for wildlife trafficking through Bangkok airport

BANGKOK: -- A Japanese man has been arrested for trying to smuggle slow lorises out of Thailand through Bangkok's new international airport, a wildlife group and an official said Saturday.

The suspect, 34-year-old Yogohari Takashi, was apprehended Friday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport for concealing nine slow lorises along with one Malayan snail-eating turtle, both protected species under Thai law, in his luggage, WildAid Thailand said in a statement.

Nirat Nipanan, the anti-wildlife trafficking chief at the airport, confirmed the arrest.

"The suspect was handed over to the police and he has bailed himself out," Nirat said.

Takashi confessed to buying the slow lorises at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, where a number of endangered species are on sale, at 6,000 baht (; €129) per animal, WildAid said.

It was the third time this year that slow lorises have been confiscated en route from Thailand to Japan.

Nirat said the suspect faces charges of smuggling protected animals out of the country and could face the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a 40,000 baht (US$1,099; €858) fine.

--iht.com 2006-11-04

I read and re read your post. Whats your problem? It DOES say Japanese man in the headline.

[Lusifer]

In Here my friend,, in here...

"Foreigner Arrested For Wildlife Trafficking At Suvarnabhumi"

after that it shows Japanese man....

This is so typical,,,

when something bad happend,, Japanese are considered as "Foreingners"

if they are heading to public park or have some i.e visa thing's, they care considered as "Asians" and so get Thai like price\treatment.

when headline is Foreigner,,,it's alost every time thought that is some farang again,,,,

headline would not sell so much if it would be JAPANESE MAN arrested.........

when it come to bail,, 40G...they spend that in few hrs in karaoke any how,,

to protect wild life in thailand,, there should be same treatment than in Drug's,, im sure that would help.

Japanese arrested for wildlife trafficking through Bangkok airport

BANGKOK: -- A Japanese man has been arrested for trying to smuggle slow lorises out of Thailand through Bangkok's new international airport, a wildlife group and an official said Saturday.

The suspect, 34-year-old Yogohari Takashi, was apprehended Friday at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport for concealing nine slow lorises along with one Malayan snail-eating turtle, both protected species under Thai law, in his luggage, WildAid Thailand said in a statement.

Nirat Nipanan, the anti-wildlife trafficking chief at the airport, confirmed the arrest.

"The suspect was handed over to the police and he has bailed himself out," Nirat said.

Takashi confessed to buying the slow lorises at Bangkok's Chatuchak Market, where a number of endangered species are on sale, at 6,000 baht (; €129) per animal, WildAid said.

It was the third time this year that slow lorises have been confiscated en route from Thailand to Japan.

Nirat said the suspect faces charges of smuggling protected animals out of the country and could face the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a 40,000 baht (US$1,099; €858) fine.

--iht.com 2006-11-04

I read and re read your post. Whats your problem? It DOES say Japanese man in the headline.

[bkkmadness]

Lol, yeah sorry man, I missed that!

[KireB]

A person from Japan is a foreigner here in Thailand. He might even be farang!

What is the most shocking, that you can buy these cuties at JJ's. Everyone knows this, but where is the .... crackdown? Thailand is the...... hub of wildlife trade!

[Dakhar]

For those of you who see sriracha john's posting of pictures of this mammal and thinking about how cute they are and want to buy one yourself, think twice.

Slow loris (Nycticebus coucang)

Glands on the inside of their elbows secrete a toxin that smells like sweaty socks. They cover their babies in the toxin to protect them from predators, and put it in their mouths to give themselves a venomous bite, delivering the toxin via their lower incisors.

Source

Sounds like an ex-gf of mine.... but that is another topic.

OK here is something that concerns me. Me being a "falang" would have no clue that I am not suposed to buy one of thise cudly critters. (I would not have the desire to, but that is not my point)

Lets say I wanted to impress a "lady friend" I just met a few hours earlier. Rather than buying her an engagement ring, I buy her a fury pet. How would I know the animal is "protected" in Thailand?!

Any how, at least I would have enough brains not to hop on a plane with the furry little critter.

[Tony Clifton]

Buying a cat or dog is plain and simple. When buying exotic animals, it's a no brainer that you should first get information on what it is you're buying. I was really impressed by a bird name khun tong, it makes the most amazing sounds, imitates anything from a motorcycle engine to human speech, beats any parrot I've ever heard.

An employee of ours has offered to get me one from her dad's land but I refused after learning you are not allowed to own one. There is a farm breeding them in Chachoengsao, I would gladly take one of those instead of a wild one if that is allowed.

It is obvious that the sale of endangered exotic animals at Jatujak is allowed because some officials are turning a blind eye after receiving tea money.

Edited November 5, 2006 by Tony Clifton

[Nawtilus]

He got ripped off with the price, 6k each, I have been offered these many times for 1 to 2k tops each.

[Indifferent]

So.

It is worse to get caught with over the cigarette limit than smuggling endagered species?

[sibeymai]

Would these little creatures be less at risk if they were "fast" lorises ?

[kmart]

Would these little creatures be less at risk if they were "fast" lorises ?

Beat me to it. Can't be very difficult to catch then?

The Chatuchak market buyers are obviously followed and arrested by bent officials from the source.

So what happens to the Chatuchak vendors / traders then?

[IMA_FARANG]

40,000 baht fine OR 3 years in jail. What a joke.

40,000 baht is nothing to pay for three years of life. The sad thing is that the only people who would therefore be stung by this is poor Thais who couldnt afford 40,000 baht.

The evidence is right here - if your poor, you go to prison.

What a joke!!!

Nirat said the suspect faces charges of smuggling protected animals out of the country and could face the maximum penalty of three years in jail or a 40,000 baht (US$1,099; €858) fine.

If , as the article the maximum penalty is 40,000 baht, how can the police charge him more? The law may be wrong, it should probably be more, but how are they going to charge him more than the maximum?

[fruittbatt]

If , as the article the maximum penalty is 40,000 baht, how can the police charge him more? The law may be wrong, it should probably be more, but how are they going to charge him more than the maximum?

This is one occasion where I support the 2-tier pricing policy....it seems only fair that the offender should be fined proportionately to the profits he stood to gain from his greed & ruthless exploitation of the lorises and the turtle.....AND then some.

[sriracha john]

Buying a cat or dog is plain and simple. When buying exotic animals, it's a no brainer that you should first get information on what it is you're buying. I was really impressed by a bird name khun tong, it makes the most amazing sounds, imitates anything from a motorcycle engine to human speech, beats any parrot I've ever heard.

An employee of ours has offered to get me one from her dad's land but I refused after learning you are not allowed to own one. There is a farm breeding them in Chachoengsao, I would gladly take one of those instead of a wild one if that is allowed.

It is obvious that the sale of endangered exotic animals at Jatujak is allowed because some officials are turning a blind eye after receiving tea money.

It had always struck me as strange that these are protected birds as the wild ones are all over the place here. Chatuchak is indeed STILL selling them as I was quoted a price of B3500 there when I was interested in obtaining one, which was BEFORE I learned they were protected, and after seeing several Thai friends owning one or more. I thought at the time that it was a very exorbitant price for such a common bird and then later found out the reason for the high price was its protected status. After all the publicity about the market there, it's appalling that the illegal trading still occurs.

Edited November 5, 2006 by sriracha john

[kmart]

If , as the article the maximum penalty is 40,000 baht, how can the police charge him more? The law may be wrong, it should probably be more, but how are they going to charge him more than the maximum?

This is one occasion where I support the 2-tier pricing policy....it seems only fair that the offender should be fined proportionately to the profits he stood to gain from his greed & ruthless exploitation of the lorises and the turtle.....AND then some.

There is someone tipping off the officials as to whom is buying the animals and therefore what sort of fine they can extract from them...?

[TokyoT]

There is someone tipping off the officials as to whom is buying the animals and therefore what sort of fine they can extract from them...?

Vendor sells to smuggler, smuggler caught at airport, illegal animals returned to vendor, and the cycle continues – na something like that could never happen in a place as developed as Thailand?

[guardian]

Buying a cat or dog is plain and simple. When buying exotic animals, it's a no brainer that you should first get information on what it is you're buying. I was really impressed by a bird name khun tong, it makes the most amazing sounds, imitates anything from a motorcycle engine to human speech, beats any parrot I've ever heard.

Any idea what this bird's called in english?

[sriracha john]

Buying a cat or dog is plain and simple. When buying exotic animals, it's a no brainer that you should first get information on what it is you're buying. I was really impressed by a bird name khun tong, it makes the most amazing sounds, imitates anything from a motorcycle engine to human speech, beats any parrot I've ever heard.

Any idea what this bird's called in english?

In Latin = Acridotheres tristis

In English = Myna Bird

as said, they are all over... BUT they are protected, and supposedly illegal to own... although I know many that do.

[Tony Clifton]

A shop near here had one in a cage by the roadside

Maybe by now it has learned to repeat " Loi baht! Sang Som! Loi baht! Sang Som" when the boys in brown show up.

Edited November 6, 2006 by Tony Clifton

[Briggsy]

Buying a cat or dog is plain and simple. When buying exotic animals, it's a no brainer that you should first get information on what it is you're buying. I was really impressed by a bird name khun tong, it makes the most amazing sounds, imitates anything from a motorcycle engine to human speech, beats any parrot I've ever heard.

Any idea what this bird's called in english?

In Latin = Acridotheres tristis

In English = Myna Bird

as said, they are all over... BUT they are protected, and supposedly illegal to own... although I know many that do.

The picture shows a common myna but a "nok khunthong" is a hill myna only found in forest. I'll just dig out the law on this. It'll take me a few minutes.

[Briggsy]

My info is from an "International Council for Bird Preservation" book dated 1988 so things may have changed. All capture and sale of birds is illegal except where exempted. The "hill myna" is one of the exempted species and traders can have 30 individuals at one time. This does not mean they can capture them from the various protected areas such as National Parks or Wildlife Sanctuaries.

However I have seen many non-exempted species at Jatujak on sale. A cage full of fire-tufted barbets springs to mind. They in all likelihood came from Malaysia illegally.

[Tony Clifton]

All capture or killing of Thai birds should be illegal.