Customs seizes 60 rare tortoises at airport
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- A Malagasy man, 31, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday for allegedly smuggling 60 highly threatened radiated tortoises (Astrochelys radiata) into the Kingdom. The tortoises, found hidden in foam-packed luggage, were reportedly worth Bt1.2 million on the market.

The suspect, Rajoma Ranjarison Andrianantenaian, who had flown from Antananarivo to Bangkok on an Air Madagascar flight and maintained his innocence after the arrest, was being investigated under several sections of Thailand's Wild Animals Preservation and Protection Act 1992, Customs Act and the Animal Epidemics Act. The seized tortoises are now in the care of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.

Since 2008, Thailand has thwarted attempts to smuggle over 400 radiated and ploughshare tortoises and arrested at least six Thai and Malagasy smugglers, according to TRAFFIC Southeast Asia.


-- The Nation 2013-12-11

Oh and how about the ones that they overlooked that end up in Jatujak market? Oh mai pen rai

It's hard to work out if they are being efficient in finding these animals or is it just a show to make us think they are doing their job?

Nobody pointing !, they must think this is not serious.

BUT its should be ,very few of those tortoises left in

the wild,I hope those get returned to Madagascar and

don't end up at Jatujak market or some grotty Thai zoo,

regards Worgeordie.

All these short term thinking people, taking ,and taking and taking.

why they never try to go up the foodchain ... oh, i guess they might bump into somebody important/rich and we would not want that, right...

how is ferrari boy doing ?

When I first skim read this I thought it said customs seize 60 rare tourists! wasn't til I clicked on the link that I realized it didn't, by which time my mind was already racing as to what would constitute 60 rare tourists....... Maybe 60 guys going to Pattaya, none of whom wanted sex.........

Delicious

ANOTHER UGLY SIDE OF GREED...WAIT......GREED HAS NO ''ATTRACTIVE SIDE''........

Please excuse my ignorance but are these tortoises sold as pets or some delicacy, or ancient Chinese cure

for something.

Now there are only 59.

One asked to go to the bathroom and escaped through the window!

Mods...off topic post and humour to be removed!!!!!