Thai authorities on Tuesday arrested a man suspected of smuggling more than 11 kilograms of rhinoceros horns concealed inside wrapped meat, in a case officials linked to an international wildlife trafficking network.
The 36-year-old Vietnamese national was detained on Monday at Bangkok’s main international airport while in transit from Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of Congo, to Laos via Ethiopia and Thailand, the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation said.
Airport authorities and police seized six pieces of rhino horn along with roughly 12 kilograms of unidentified meat, used to conceal the horns inside a polystyrene icebox. “There were some irregularities in the X-ray scan of the checked luggage, so the authorities examined it,” the department said.
Sadudee Panpakdee, director of the department’s CITES division, told AFP that officials were unsure of the exact value of the seized horns or the type of meat used to hide them. The items have been sent to a wildlife forensic laboratory for examination.
If convicted, the suspect could face up to 10 years in prison and a fine of one million baht (approximately $32,000).
All five rhino species are protected under international law, and trade in their horns is strictly banned. Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell endangered animals on the lucrative black market in Asia.
