Ratchaburi native Sompol Mekchai, 45, was apprehended in Sam Roi Yot district at 2am on Sunday after police suspected he was trying to dodge their checkpoint on the Phetchkasem Highway.

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Seeing his pickup suddenly swerve onto a canal-side road 300 metres from the blockade, officers gave chase, pulled him over and searched the truck.&nbsp;

The pangolins were bundled up in 18 mesh bags stashed in the cargo bed beneath planks of wood and other construction materials.&nbsp;

Police claim Sompol confessed to having smuggled live pangolins three times before, earning Bt8,000 each time.

But he could not identify his employer, having received his orders by phone.&nbsp;

Pickups already holding the animals were always left at a designated location for him to use. This time he collected the truck in Muang Prachuap Khiri Khan and was heading for Pathum Thani, he said.&nbsp;

Sompol is charged with possessing protected wild animals without a permit.

Truckload of pangolins intercepted in Prachuap

Police early Sunday morning seized 76 live pangolins – estimated combined retail value overseas Bt10 million – from a smuggler in Prachuap Khiri Khan.