Authorities from Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) raided a warehouse in Lam Luk Ka District, Pathum Thani, seizing more than 120,000 dried gecko carcasses and nearly 30 tonnes of protected timber allegedly prepared for export to China. The operation was carried out on 6 March 2025 following an investigation into a suspected wildlife and illegal timber trafficking network. Officers also arrested two suspects linked to the warehouse.

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Police Major General Anek Taosupap, commander of the DNP, ordered Police Colonel Apisan Chairat, chief of Division 5, and Police Lieutenant Colonel Pathompong Thongjamroon, deputy chief of Division 5, to lead the raid. Officers executed a search warrant issued by Thanyaburi Provincial Court after gathering evidence that the warehouse was being used to store large quantities of wildlife carcasses and protected timber.

The investigation stemmed from a joint arrest in October 2025 by Division 5 officers and Chumphon highway police. Officers had stopped a suspicious covered pickup truck and discovered 70 boxes containing dried gecko carcasses weighing more than 700 kilograms, equivalent to around 21,000 geckos.

Further investigation later suggested that many more carcasses were stored at the Lam Luk Ka warehouse, prompting authorities to seek a warrant and conduct the raid. During the search, officers found 414 cardboard boxes filled with dried gecko carcasses, each box containing approximately 300 geckos and weighing about 10 kilograms per box.

In total, officials seized roughly 4,140 kilograms of gecko carcasses, equivalent to about 124,200 individual geckos. They also discovered protected timber including fragrant rosewood and Payung wood scraps stored in 498 sacks weighing around 40 kilograms each, totalling 19,920 kilograms.

Additionally, officers found finely ground fragrant rosewood and Payung wood packed in 210 sacks of similar weight, amounting to about 8,400 kilograms. Officials said both fragrant rosewood and Payung wood are protected species and possession without documentation proving legal origin constitutes an offence under the Forestry Act.

Investigators identified the warehouse tenants as siblings Ms Rung and Mr Game, who told officers they had rented the premises for about four years to store goods awaiting export. According to their statement, a customer informed them in August 2025 that dried gecko carcasses from Satun Province would be delivered to the warehouse for Ms Rung to ship to China, although shipments had not yet taken place.

Authorities charged both suspects with importing and possessing protected wildlife without permission under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019). The source and legality of the seized timber remain under further investigation.

ThaiRath reported that officials confiscated all evidence and transferred the case to investigators at Division 5 of the DNP for legal proceedings. Authorities said the investigation will continue in order to trace the wider trafficking network connected to the operation.

Pictures courtesy of ThaiRath

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Adapted by ASEAN Now Thairath 8 Mar 2026

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I can't believe that 120,000 geckos and 30 tons of illegal timber just “slip through the cracks.”

Surely, trafficking on this scale can only happen when a whole chain of people is either paid off or pretends to be blind!

The raid didn’t expose a small family operation, it exposed how deeply these networks are embedded.

If the buyers at the other end (in China) actually faced consequences, this entire pipeline would collapse.

But, as long as demand stays high and enforcement stays selective, the criminals will keep treating Southeast Asia’s wildlife and forests like it's theirs for the taking.

What do the Chinese do with gecko carcasses ?

Grind them into baby food to sell to the west ?