Wildlife traffickers nabbed in Thai far South

NARATHIWAT, November 22 (TNA) - Police and soldiers in Narathiwat Province in the Thai far South have arrested four suspects and seized 50 pangolins before being smuggled out to China, through traders in Laos. Deputy Narathiwat Governor Detrat Simsiri told a press conference on Tuesday morning that police from the Khokkhian Police Station and marines from the Chulabhorn Camp arrested Toruedee Mayeng, a Narathiwat native, and three other suspected wildlife traffickers while they were transporting 50 pangolins hidden with fruit baskets on their pickup truck passing a local security checkpoint. The Narathiwat native confessed that he had bought the pangolins from a supplier in Sungai Kolok District at 1,000-1,200 baht per kilogram, but he was arrested before sending the animals to a wholesaler in nearby Yala Province, saying that the seized animals were planned to be later smuggled to neighbouring Laos and destined for China, where pangolin meat is popular as local people believe it is an effective stimulant. The four suspects have been charged with possessing and transporting protected wildlife without legal authorization. (TNA)