A Vietnamese man has been arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after being caught with five pieces of rhino horn worth an estimated 6.9 million baht while travelling from Angola to Laos.
Thai Customs officials confirmed on Sunday that the man was detained as part of an ongoing crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade.
The arrest was made following intelligence gathering and analysis of passenger data, which flagged the traveller as a high-risk suspect.
Phantong Loykulnanta, spokesperson for the Customs Department, said the operation reflects the agency’s proactive approach to tackling offences related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
He emphasised that the department has been closely monitoring potential smuggling routes through Thailand.
Authorities said the suspect, a Vietnamese national, was in transit at Suvarnabhumi on his way to Vientiane, Laos. He had flown from Luanda, Angola, with a stopover in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, before arriving in Bangkok.
On 6 September, at around 7:45 pm, officers from the Customs Bureau, working alongside other agencies, intercepted the man and searched his luggage.
The inspection uncovered five pieces of rhino horn weighing a total of 6.86 kilogrammes. The seized items are estimated to have a street value of 6.9 million baht, equivalent to about US$215,000.
The suspect has since been charged with violating multiple laws, including the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017), the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), and the Animal Epidemics Act B.E. 2558 (2015).
Phantong stressed that the Customs Department will continue to work with other relevant authorities to block the smuggling of endangered species and ensure stronger protection for both society and the environment.
