Rhino horns from a previous seizure
The Customs Department has confiscated eight rhino horns, worth roughly THB10 million, from smugglers attempting to pass through Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A 31-year-old Guinean man was arrested after Suvarnabhumi officials found eight rhino horns, which weighed 10 kilograms, in his suitcase. The horns, according to the officials, could be worth up to THB10 million in the black market. The man, who had traveled to Thailand from Uganda, claimed that the suitcase belonged to a friend. Officials said an x-ray machine detected the horns. Earlier this year, Thailand hosted the CITES conference on wildlife trade, where rhinos were afforded special protections.
In related news, Thailand’s Customs Department contacted officials in Cambodia two days ago, asking them to search a passenger suspected of smuggling illegal objects. The smuggler was traveling to Siem Reap where he was apprehended with a number of African elephant tusks.
