Police have arrested a team involved in illegal wildlife trafficking from Indonesia to Thailand, confiscating 48 lemurs and over 1,000 radiated tortoises.

 

Pol. Lt. Gen. Watcharin Phusit, head of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division, disclosed that they were tipped off about a suspicious group smuggling wildlife from Aceh on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, through the Thai province of Satun, to Bangkok.

 

In response, the Thai authorities partnered with the US Fish and Wildlife Service to track down and halt the group of four vehicles at a hotel in the Muang District, Chumphon Province.

 

Upon checking the vehicles, they found seven people, including four men and three women. These individuals had the smuggled animals, including the 48 lemurs and 1,076 radiated tortoises, caged in their possession.

 

The authorities are widening their investigation and intending to bring charges against everyone involved in the trafficking operation. The charges could include possession of protected wildlife without consent, helping in the transport of wildlife, and aiding in smuggling wildlife into the kingdom to avoid customs duties. All the suspects, however, have rejected the allegations.

 

Photo courtesy of Thai News Agency

 

-- 2024-05-02

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The real animals were the ones driving the trucks.

Makes you wonder why the US is involved.

15 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

Pol. Lt. Gen. Watcharin Phusit, head of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division, disclosed that they were tipped off about a suspicious group smuggling wildlife from Aceh on Sumatra Island, Indonesia, through the Thai province of Satun, to Bangkok.

Otherwise they would have got in?

Heinous crime. I do wonder, however, if BKK is the end point or whether there is another final destination.

Radiated tortoises are critically endangered. Now more so. 😧😢 Hopefully they will be returned to their native environments, survive, and not be captured again.

Pathetic way to make money….an extremely vulnerable victim….punishment is never servere enough to deter so gov partly to blame

Edited May 3, 20242 yr by cardinalblue