Thai Army Stops Cattle Smuggling Attempt by Myanmar Nationals

The Royal Thai Army (RTA) has caught five people trying to smuggle 20 cows into the country. The offenders, all from Myanmar, were being paid 250 baht per cow by an anonymous third party.

The arrest happened on July 15, when the 35th Ranger Forces Regiment were on patrol in Ban Mae Salid Luang in the Tha Song Yang district, Tak province. During the patrol, the soldiers came across a group guiding 20 cows through the Mae Salid Pokro stream near the Mae Song Subdistrict Administrative Organization.

Upon being found, the group tried to run away but the officers caught five of them, four men, and a woman. The suspects are 20-year-old Saw Wi Hae, 21-year-old Cho Ae Por, 30-year-old Di Di, 35-year-old Tho Ko, and 50-year-old No Lae Tae. All of them had identification cards that showed they were stateless.

The offenders admitted that a third party had hired them to guide the cows from the Moei River area on the Thai side, close to Ban Mae Salid Luang. Once they had moved the cattle through the landscape and the Mae Salid Pokro stream, a pickup truck with a metal cage transported the cows for resale. Each person involved in the transport received a payment of 250 baht per cow.

The authorities believe that the cows had been brought illegally into Thailand from Wasu Ko village in the Karen State of Myanmar.

As a result, the army worked with the local police and the Mae Sot District Livestock Office to charge the suspects with moving animals or carcasses without permission in a surveillance zone for foot-and-mouth disease. This contravenes Section 22 and the penalties laid out in Section 65 of the Animal Epidemic Act.

The suspects are now with the Tha Song Yang Police Station investigators and the cattle have been handed over to livestock officials to decide what happens next, following the Department of Livestock Development’s rules.

File photo for reference only

-- 2024-07-15

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