Trafficking Gang Killed Elephants

[Lite Beer]

Trafficking gang 'killed elephants'
Jessada Chuntraruk,
Janjira Pongrai
The Nation on Sunday

BANGKOK: -- A Laotian-Vietnamese wildlife trafficker and influential local people are believed to be behind the slaying of wild elephants in Kaeng Krachan National Park in Phetchaburi, an elephant expert told reporters at the Crime Reporters and Photographers Association of Thailand.

Elephant expert Dulasit Snidwongs na Ayutthaya said the alleged Laotian wildlife trafficker who has Vietnamese nationality was Roi or Doi Jantawongsa. She, and influential people, including a Thai policeman and his Vietnamese wife, who live in the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum, worked together and were allegedly involved in the elephant slaughter.

He said six wild elephants were killed over the past 15 months in the park. But bullets found in the elephants' bodies were not able to kill the animals on their own. Therefore, he believed that they were poisoned, and that the poachers only shot the animals to create false evidence.

He believed the killings were not for the ivory in the animals' tusks or their babies, as the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) had suggested. Rather, they wanted the slaughter to create conflicts between the park officials and local people, including Karen, Karang and Paka-Kyaw Karen people. Such conflicts would delay the process to include Kaeng Krachan as a royal project. If the park was a royal project, it would be strictly guarded to stop outsiders making use of its forests.

Dulasit said all of the elephants were killed near a reservoir in the park. He believed that poachers hired by this gang killed them there so park staff would pay more attention to guard elephants in the area, and they could use routes in other areas of the park to transport illegal objects for their trade.

Meanwhile, park chief Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn insisted that Dulasit's information was different from the park's. Previously, it had gathered all information and evidence about the killings. It was not necessary for the park to consider his information.

Chaiwat said he would meet Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief Tarit Pengdith and give him the evidence and a list naming people involved in the wild elephant slaughter so the DSI could consider taking it as a special case.

But DNP deputy chief Theerapat Prayurasiddhi said the department wanted Dulasit to give his information to relevant authorities rather than telling the public as it could affect inquiries into the slayings.

The DNP would invite chiefs responsible for national parks where wild elephants dwell to attend its meeting tomorrow to present their plans to protect the animals. Later on Tuesday it would have another meeting with other government agencies handling elephant problems so they could create a protection plan together before outlining elephant situations and a plan to the premier later, he said.

-- The Nation 2013-04-21

[NongKhaiKid]

Back to the thread about the statement from a parks chief stating politicians being involved as once again we see the phrase " influential local people ". So many operate with a feeling of absolute impunity and why not as they are unlikely yo be challenged by their own kind since they too are involved in all sorts of things and one day might need the " blind eye " courtesy extended to them.

[noitom]

Preposterous tripe again and again in this newspaper. The elephant slaughter story, the double talk. When will the newspaper actually write and investigate something worthwhile and corrective?

Isn't the newspaper ashamed of its treatment of this elephant matter? A little truth please.

[chainarong]

You know this country, on the back of Mr Chuang and the Dems were on the road to greatness in 1997 ,(that will get Thaksin supporters going) then came the Thaitanic and since then the whole structure , fabric of Thai society has fallen in a vacuum, standards have deteriorated the political will is not there and the generals still run the departments , in respect, Thailand has not moved on, animal trafficking and all the other problems plaguing this great nation will do so for decades to come

Edited April 21, 2013 by chainarong

[Robby nz]

Me thinks the gent complicates things a bit too much to be believable.

Straight out for profit seems much more likely.

[Nisa]

The "elephant expert" is claimed to "believe" many things but I missed anything about any proof or where he is getting all these "beliefs"

[metisdead]

Off topic post and a reply have been removed.

[TackyToo]

Preposterous tripe again and again in this newspaper. The elephant slaughter story, the double talk. When will the newspaper actually write and investigate something worthwhile and corrective?

Isn't the newspaper ashamed of its treatment of this elephant matter? A little truth please.

They call it self-censorship. Regarding your question: don't hang your hopes too high TIT.

[khunken]

The "elephant expert" is claimed to "believe" many things but I missed anything about any proof or where he is getting all these "beliefs"

Just like the park chief who has a charge hanging over him of burning villagers property. One needs to take all the 'information' about this park (& others too) with a huge amount of scepticism.

[Locationthailand]

Investigative journalism at its peak. Try reporting the story and not the journalists assumptions. Deal with facts.

[maidu]

Investigative journalism at its peak. Try reporting the story and not the journalists assumptions. Deal with facts.

....at its nadir.

[HarryMilton]

Investigative journalism at its peak. Try reporting the story and not the journalists assumptions. Deal with facts.

If you take time to read the report you won't find any journalists assumptions only their report of the story. Deal with the facts.

[francescoassisi]

There seems to be a plethora of ever more fantastic allegations and very little evidence of real progress.

It really doesn't help if people keep going to press with these theories or whatever they are. Just arrest and charge the suspects and then tell your stories to the courts. The papers can publish the stories then.

Edited April 21, 2013 by francescoassisi

[phuturatica]

Well whatever the reason is behind these killings of wild elephants,I hope whoever is responsible gets what's coming to them.

[maidu]

There seems to be a plethora of ever more fantastic allegations and very little evidence of real progress.

It really doesn't help if people keep going to press with these theories or whatever they are. Just arrest and charge the suspects and then tell your stories to the courts. The papers can publish the stories then.

It's Thai style - for VIP's to tell their minions what happened, as soon as the VIP's hear the first inkling of news.

Thaksin did it all the time when he was PM (and still does it). Whenever a story broke, he would immediately tell everyone around him all the details - who did it and why. Chalerm does it also. It's a paternalistic society where most people want to be told how to think by elders and VIP's. Alternatively, adept investigations would lead to the actual perpetrators and motives. Thais don't want to wait that long. It happens each time one or more farang die mysteriously in Phi Phi or other tourist places. As soon as the news breaks, a governor or police chief chimes up and says 'poison fish' or 'ibuprophin overdose.' It's only weeks or months later that a semblance of truth emerges, and usually that stems from farang investigators, not Thai.

[francescoassisi]

There seems to be a plethora of ever more fantastic allegations and very little evidence of real progress.

It really doesn't help if people keep going to press with these theories or whatever they are. Just arrest and charge the suspects and then tell your stories to the courts. The papers can publish the stories then.

It's Thai style - for VIP's to tell their minions what happened, as soon as the VIP's hear the first inkling of news.

Thaksin did it all the time when he was PM (and still does it). Whenever a story broke, he would immediately tell everyone around him all the details - who did it and why. Chalerm does it also. It's a paternalistic society where most people want to be told how to think by elders and VIP's. Alternatively, adept investigations would lead to the actual perpetrators and motives. Thais don't want to wait that long. It happens each time one or more farang die mysteriously in Phi Phi or other tourist places. As soon as the news breaks, a governor or police chief chimes up and says 'poison fish' or 'ibuprophin overdose.' It's only weeks or months later that a semblance of truth emerges, and usually that stems from farang investigators, not Thai.

Calling "Thai style" doesn't seem to me to be a justification for this sort of thing.

"Semblance of truth" as you point out this is so often the outcome.....by making so many off the cuff statements the chances for the truth coming out become very slim.

Why you single out Thaksin in for this type of behaviour seems unclear to me.

Edited April 29, 2013 by francescoassisi