Thai Customs officials have arrested a Vietnamese man at Suvarnabhumi Airport after he was caught attempting to smuggle rhino horns with an estimated value of 6.9 million baht.
Phantong Loykulnanta, a spokesperson for the Customs Department, said on Sunday that the arrest was the result of a proactive policy to crack down on the illegal wildlife trade.
The department, he said, has been closely monitoring offences related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Acting on intelligence and analysis of passenger data, officials at the airport identified a man at high risk of smuggling rhino horns through Thailand.
The suspect, a Vietnamese national, was in transit at Suvarnabhumi on his way to his final destination of Vientiane, Laos. He had travelled from Luanda, Angola, with a layover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
On 6 September, at approximately 7:45 pm, officers from the Customs Bureau at Suvarnabhumi Airport, working with other agencies, arrested the man and searched his luggage.
They discovered five pieces of rhino horn weighing a total of 6.86 kilogrammes. The estimated street value of the haul is 6.9 million baht (approximately $US 215,355).
The man has been charged with offences under the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017), the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), and the Animal Epidemics Act B.E. 2558 (2015).
Phantong said the Customs Department would continue to collaborate with relevant agencies to intercept the smuggling of CITES-protected species, enhancing social and environmental security.