A Vietnamese man was arrested at Bangkok’s main airport for smuggling rhino horns concealed in meat, linked to an international wildlife trafficking network
BANGKOK: A Vietnamese man has been arrested at Bangkok’s main international airport for allegedly smuggling more than 11 kilograms of rhino horn concealed inside wrapped meat.
Thai authorities linked the case on Tuesday to an international wildlife trafficking network.
The 36-year-old man was detained on Monday after landing in Bangkok on suspicion of illegal wildlife imports.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation stated he was travelling from Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo to Laos, transiting through Ethiopia and Thailand.
Airport authorities and police seized six pieces of rhinoceros horn and around 12 kilograms of unidentified meat used to conceal them inside a polystyrene icebox.
“There were some irregularities in the X-ray scan of the checked luggage so the authorities checked it,” the department said.
Sadudee Panpakdee, director of the department’s CITES division, told AFP officials were unsure of the value of the seized horns or what type of meat was used.
The items were sent to a wildlife forensic laboratory for examination.
If convicted, the suspect faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to one million baht (approximately RM130,000).
All five rhino species are protected under international law and trade in their horns is banned.
Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers who often sell highly prized endangered creatures on the lucrative black market in Asia.
