Indian smuggler arrested at Thai airport with fox, pythons | Inquirer News

Indian smuggler arrested at Thai airport with fox, pythons

/ 03:42 PM August 18, 2022

Indian smuggler arrested at Thai airport with fox, pythons

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BANGKOK — An Indian man has been arrested at Thailand’s main airport attempting to smuggle out a menagerie of live creatures including a white desert fox and a raccoon, officials said Wednesday.

The Southeast Asian kingdom is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers — who often sell the animals on to China and Vietnam — although recent months have seen an uptick in trafficking to India.

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Abilash Annaduri, 21, was found with 17 live creatures of six species, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said in a statement.

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It said his haul included a white desert fox, a raccoon, two iguanas and a pair of white pythons — as well as three monitor lizards and eight marmoset monkeys.

All of the animals were found in plastic baskets, hidden underneath snacks and packed in luggage, as he passed through X-ray machines at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport Tuesday night en route to Chennai.

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“Thai authorities arrested a man trying to smuggle animals to India,” said Prasert Sonsatapornkul, a division director at the conservation department, adding that he had noted an increase in trafficking to India.

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Officials estimated the creatures would be worth around 98,000 baht ($2,760).

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But they were perplexed as to how the animals came into Thailand.

“We can’t find microchips on these animals so we do not know where they come from,” Prasert said.

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Annaduri has been charged with wildlife smuggling and detained for questioning by police.

The rescued animals were sent for medical check-ups.

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Snakes, baby monkey seized at Bangkok airport

TAGS: Animals, Smuggling, Thailand

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