Orlitia borneensis in holding pen (Photo: C.R.Shepherd TRAFFIC Southeast Asia)
On February 1, 2012, officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division (NRECD) of the Royal Thai Police and the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) intercepted and seized 2 vehicles in Bangkok on the way to Suvarnabhumi Airport, with cargo containing the following reptile-species: 56 Yellow-headed temple turtles, 3 Asian box turtles, 5 Platysternon megacephalum carcasses, 25 common siamese soft-shelled turtles, 17 reticulated pythons, 9 Naja kaouthia, 4 python molurus, and 700 Chinese soft-shelled turtles, with a total estimated value of 3.7 million THB. 3 suspects who were arrested confessed that the cargo will be exported by air to China.
Watch an Al-Jazeera video about Thailand’s flourishing wildlife trade on the Southeast Asia campaign YouTube Channel…
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