Two men have been arrested in Bangkok after allegedly attempting to transport protected wildlife for export, a Rhinoceros Hornbill and a Yellow-cheeked gibbon, authorities said.
The suspects, a Thai and a Cambodian, were arrested on Tuesday morning at a petrol station in Samsen Nai, Phaya Thai district, following a tip-off from a member of the public.
Wildlife officers from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, working with police from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, had been monitoring a suspected handover of protected animals.
When the two men arrived separately on motorcycles, officers noticed a perforated cardboard box attached to the rear of one of the bikes. A search found two plastic animal crates containing a rhinoceros hornbill and a yellow-cheeked gibbon, both protected species under Thai law.
Authorities seized the two animals, two plastic crates, the cardboard box and two mobile phones.
The suspects were subsequently taken to their shared commercial building on Ratchaprarop Soi 16 in Ratchathewi district for a search. No additional illegally held protected wildlife was found.
During questioning, the men allegedly told officers they had been acting as middlemen, collecting wildlife from different sellers and delivering it to buyers in return for a commission. They said they had been involved in the operation for more than a year.
Both men face charges under Thailand’s Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act 2019 for possessing protected wildlife without permission and jointly trading protected wildlife without authorisation.
The Cambodian suspect also faces an additional charge under the Immigration Act 1979 for overstaying his permission to remain in Thailand, which expired on March 31.
The seized animals have been handed over to the Wildlife Health Management Unit under the Wildlife Conservation Division for care and further examination.