143 macaques rescued from smugglers in Sa Kaeo Thailand
Patrolling rangers rescued 143 protected crab-eating macaques from two smuggling operations in Sa Kaeo and arrested two suspects on Friday.
The first attempt was in Ban Khao Chong Kab village 2, Khlong Hat district, where rangers heard unusual animal cries from a sugarcane forest, Yotsawat Thiansawat, director of the Protected Area Regional Office 1, said.
The team found 10 plastic baskets with blue mesh bags containing 62 macaques—44 males and 18 females—in poor condition due to improper treatment and cramped spaces.
On the same day, a suspicious dark grey Toyota Revo was spotted in tambon Phan Suek, Aranyaprathet district. Rangers noticed the vehicle entering a sugarcane forest, with some individuals unloading blue mesh bags from the truck bed.
When the officials attempted to inspect, the driver sped away but was eventually intercepted in tambon Khlong Nam Sai of this eastern province bordering Cambodia.
Two people on the vehicle, identified only as Suwat, 38, and Suebphong, 40, were arrested, claiming they were only hired to drive.
A search of uncovered 30 male and 51 female weary macaques, along with a small amount of drugs.
All of the seized animals were being cared for at the Wildlife Rescue Centre No.2 in Chachoengsao province, Mr Yotsawat said.
The captured wild monkeys are believed to have been smuggled out of the country for use in traditional Chinese medicine and are also intended for use in laboratory testing abroad.
Authorities rescue macaque monkeys in blue mesh bags from a wildlife smuggling operation in Aranyaprathet district in Sa Kaeo province near the Thailand-Cambodia border on Friday. (Photo: Royal Thai Army)
Bangkok Post
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