BANGKOK: Thai rangers have arrested two men suspected of being part of an international wildlife smuggling network, the military said Saturday after they were intercepted in a car carrying 81 macaques near the Cambodian border.
Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell highly-prized endangered creatures on the lucrative black market in China, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.
A patrol stopped the vehicle on Friday afternoon in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province, where troops found the monkeys stuffed into a blue net bag.
“At 3:20 pm, authorities arrested the two suspects and inspected their vehicle,” the 12th Ranger Forces Regiment, which is responsible for the area, said in a statement on Facebook.
The soldiers also seized methamphetamine pills and crystal meth, though no quantities were specified.
During questioning, the men admitted they were involved in a cross-border trafficking ring moving macaques from Thailand into Cambodia, the military said in a Facebook post.
Troops were working with police to pursue charges under wildlife-protection and narcotics laws.
Last year Thailand sent almost 1,000 highly endangered lemurs and tortoises back to their home in Madagascar, after both countries’ biggest operation against wildlife trafficking.
In May, Thai police arrested a man suspected of smuggling two baby orangutans into the kingdom.