A Sri Lankan man has been arrested at an airport in Thailand after allegedly trying to smuggle three snakes out of the country by concealing them in his underwear.
The man was stopped at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport on Wednesday after a body search revealed three ball pythons, stored in net bags, hidden on his person. The suspect, identified only as Shehan, was apprehended by the Thailand Wildlife Enforcement Network (WEN), authorities said in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Authorities received intelligence on Tuesday that a Sri Lankan man with a history of animal trafficking had arrived in Bangkok shortly after midnight that day. The WEN coordinated a multi-agency monitoring effort, tracking Shehan’s movements on suspicion of wildlife smuggling.
Ball pythons are classified as a species listed under Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. They cannot be exported or imported without an official permit.
For attempting to export wildlife without permission, the suspect may face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to 1 million baht (US$30,900), or both.
He also may be charged with attempting to export goods without a customs permit, punishable by up to one year in prison, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
This is not the first time Shehan has been caught attempting to traffic exotic animals internationally. According to the Bangkok Post, background checks revealed he was arrested last year in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in relation to a case where officials seized a range of wildlife which included wolves, meerkats, cockatoos, sugar gliders, porcupines and iguanas.
Shehan reportedly had an outgoing Thai Airways flight booked on Wednesday evening. Airport officers conducted an X-ray scan and searched his luggage, but found no illegal items. They then requested for a body search, which led to the discovery of the non-venomous snakes concealed in his underwear.
The suspect was taken into custody for further questioning and investigations are ongoing.
Thailand is considered a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell sought-after endangered creatures in the region’s black market, according to a report by Agence France-Presse.
A wildlife trade monitoring NGO warned in June of a “very troubling” trend in trafficking driven by the exotic pet trade, noting that more than 7,000 animals, dead and alive, had been seized along the Thailand-India air route in the last three years.
In June, Indian customs officers foiled at least three cases of attempted wildlife smuggling from passengers returning from Thailand. The most recent attempt, on June 29, saw the seizure of 16 live snakes.
Source: South China Morning Post
--Agencies
