Thread: Mae Hong Son - Smugglers can't hide elephants

Smugglers can't hide elephants

(dpa) - Suspected smugglers on Monday failed to sneak two elephants from Burma past eagle-eyed provincial authorities in Mae Hong Son, Thailand, where five animal traffickers were arrested and the pachyderms seized.

The arrestees included two Burmese nationals and three Thais who face charges of attempted elephant smuggling across the Salween River into Thailand, said the Thai News Agency (TNA).

Mae Hong Son provincial authorities apprehended the five suspects when they failed to produce proper elephant identification cards and certificates of ownership records for the two beasts.

Trade in wild elephants is prohibited in Thailand, although it is permissible if the animal is certified as domesticated livestock that was born in captivity.

The suspects told Thai authorities that they had bought the two female elephants in Burma for 520,000 baht ($14,400) each and planned to resell them to Thai investors.

Thai border officials noted that elephant smuggling across the Thailand-Burma border was no small problem. They said they were on the lookout for a batch of seven elephants that are expected to be smuggled soon into Mae Hong Son.