Pictures courtesy of Thaitabloid 

 

Police have arrested a Cambodian man for allegedly smuggling 63 long-tailed macaques, halting a planned cross-border wildlife trafficking operation. Officers intercepted the suspect’s vehicle on Route 33 in Prachinburi’s Kabin Buri District on 29 November 2025, rescuing the animals. The operation prevented the macaques from being illicitly transported out of Thailand.

 

The Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), through the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division (NRECD), made the arrest after receiving intelligence on cross-border wildlife smuggling activities. The suspect, identified as 42-year-old Mr. Than, was apprehended for possessing wildlife without permission and for violating immigration law. The operation followed coordinated investigations with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

 

Officers from Subdivision 2 of NRECD located a suspicious vehicle during a planned interception and conducted a search. They discovered 63 long-tailed macaques (Macaca fascicularis), a protected species listed as No. 153, packed inside ten plastic containers. The seizure also included a Honda vehicle and a total of 13 other items of evidence.

 

The suspect admitted that he had transported the macaques from a northern province with the intention of moving them onward to Cambodia. Police immediately took him into custody and transferred both the suspect and the seized animals to investigators at Kabin Buri Police Station. Authorities said that international coordination would continue to further investigate the wider trafficking network.

 

Thaitabloid reported that officials reiterated that possessing or trading long-tailed macaques without permission is illegal under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562. They warned that such offences carry significant penalties due to the species’ protected status. Further developments will depend on the results of the expanded investigation and international cooperation.

 

 

Key Takeaways

 

• Police arrested a Cambodian suspect transporting 63 protected macaques in Prachinburi.

• The animals were found packed in ten plastic containers during a planned interception.

• Authorities are expanding the investigation with international partners to trace the trafficking network.

 

Related Stories

 

Two-men-arrested-for-smuggling-81-monkeys-across-Thai-border

 

 

Taiwanese-arrested-for-wildlife-smuggling-at-Bangkok-airport

 

 

 Adapted by Asean Now from Thaitabloid 2025-12-01

 

 

Mmm... Yummy monkey brains. Haha... Why else would they be smuggling so many of them? Surely they have the capacity to breed their own monkeys.