BANGKOK, June 2 – Customs officials seized 451 tortoises, soft-shelled turtles and gharials smuggled into Thailand at Suvarnabhumi Airport by a suspected international smuggling syndicate of endangered animals, according to Director-General Prasong Poontanet of the Thai Customs Department.
The reptiles were worth Bt1 million (some US$33,000), including 140 small aquatic turtles, 35 Indian Star Tortoise (Geochelone elegans), seven soft-shelled turtles, seven gharials, one Asian narrow-headed soft-shelled turtle and some other species of tortoises.
All the confiscated animals were hidden in baggage from the Bangladesh capital of Dhaka to Bangkok, Mr Prasong told a press briefing on Thursday.
Currently, the reptiles are being cared for by the airport’s Wildlife Checkpoint, as evidence, for further investigation and following up the gang of alleged smugglers.
The related customs officials also lodged a complaint at a local police station to locate the gang of alleged smugglers for legal prosecution.
Thailand signed an agreement under the Convention of International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), an international agreement between governments, designed to ensure that the international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
If found guilty, the members of the syndicate will be charged, according to Thailand’s Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act and Customs Act. (MCOT online news)
