International Wildlife Trafficking Ring Dismantled: Officers Seize Truck Carrying Over 100 Protected Animals
Authorities dismantled an international wildlife trafficking operation in Phetchaburi province, seizing over 100 protected animals including rare cockatoos, kangaroos, and snakes from a truck and arresting the driver.
On May 6, 2025, Nitthat Nunsong, director of the Regional Conservation Area Office 3 in Phetchaburi, received a report from Surasakdi Anumethanglor, director of the Phetchaburi Wildlife Conservation Division, along with Itthiphon Changruang, head of the wildlife enforcement unit, and veterinarian Anurak Skulpong. Officers from multiple agencies including the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, wildlife conservation promotion staff, prevention and suppression units, Phetchaburi police, and the narcotics suppression unit coordinated to inspect a suspicious gray Toyota truck in Don Khun Huai subdistrict, Cha-Am district, Phetchaburi province.
The search of the truck bed revealed numerous protected animals in boxes, including 13 Moluccan cockatoos, 8 cuscuses, 6 tree kangaroos, 13 echidnas, 1 sugar glider, and 100 snakes of unidentified species. The driver, 49-year-old Songob (surname withheld) from Satun, was taken into custody.
During questioning, Songob confessed to smuggling the animals for resale, having received them from an illegal wildlife trafficking network. Authorities initially charged him with "possessing protected wildlife without permission" under Section 19 of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562. The suspect and seized animals were handed over to Cha-Am police station for legal proceedings, with plans to expand the investigation to the wider trafficking network and conduct further species identification of the protected and CITES-listed animals.