Thai authorities arrested two men suspected of running an international wildlife smuggling operation, discovering not only 81 macaques but also methamphetamine during a patrol near the Cambodian border, the military said Saturday.
According to CBS News, the vehicle was stopped Friday afternoon in Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaeo province, a key smuggling route, where troops found the monkeys crammed into blue net bags.
Authorities also confiscated meth pills and crystal meth, though the military did not disclose the exact amounts.
“At 3:20 pm, authorities arrested the two suspects and inspected their vehicle,” the 12th Ranger Forces Regiment said in a statement on Facebook.
During questioning, the men admitted to running a cross-border trafficking ring moving macaques from Thailand into Cambodia. Troops are now working with police to press charges under both wildlife-protection and narcotics laws.
Thailand is a known transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell endangered animals on black markets in China, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia. The seizure of meth alongside the macaques highlights the increasingly intertwined nature of wildlife trafficking and drug smuggling in the region. Drug Convictions can lead to life sentences in Thailand’s notorious prison system.
In recent years, Thai authorities have ramped up efforts against wildlife crime. Last year, nearly 1,000 lemurs and tortoises were returned to Madagascar following the kingdom’s largest wildlife trafficking crackdown.
In June, Indian customs seized close to 100 animals, including lizards and tree-climbing possums, arriving from Thailand, with TRAFFIC reporting over 7,000 animals confiscated along the Thailand-India air route over the past three-and-a-half years.
The meth seizure also underscores Thailand’s broader battle against narcotics trafficking. Past operations have included arrests of suspects smuggling baby orangutans, snakes, parrots, and monitor lizards—often with illegal drugs found alongside the animals.
Authorities say investigations are ongoing, with both wildlife and drug charges expected to be filed against the two men.
