BANGKOK, 23 June 2013 The Customs Department has confiscated 8 rhino horns, worth up to 10 million baht, that were being smuggled through Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A 31-year-old Guinean man was arrested after Suvarnabhumi officials had found 8 rhino horns weighing 10 kilograms in his suitcase. The horns, according to the officials, could be worth up to 10 million baht in the black market. However, the smuggler said the suitcase belonged to a friend who had left the suitcase with him.
The 31-year-old was coming from Uganda. The officials said the horns were detected by an x ray machine. Thailand, earlier this year, hosted CITES conference where rhinos were agreed to be listed as protected animals.
In related news, Thailand’s Customs Department contacted officials in Cambodia two days ago asking them to search a passenger suspected of smuggling illegal objects. The smuggler was traveling to Siem Reap where he was apprehended with a number of African elephant tusks.
