Vietnamese arrested in Bangkok for allegedly smuggling rhino horns to Laos

A Vietnamese man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport on Monday for allegedly attempting to smuggle six rhino horns from Congo to Laos via Thailand.

Komkrit Pinsai, chief of the Suvarnabhumi Airport wildlife checkpoint, said the 36-year-old suspect was arrested at 8pm while waiting to board a transit flight to Vientiane.

Komkrit said the suspect travelled from Lubumbashi in Congo and transited in Ethiopia before making another transit stop at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

The arrest came after officials from customs, immigration and quarantine agencies X-rayed checked baggage and spotted suspected illegal items inside a foam box. They opened the box and found six rhino horns weighing 11.75 kilogrammes, wrapped in three pieces of animal hide.
 

The suspect failed to produce documents certifying the export and import of wildlife parts and was charged under three Thai laws:

 • Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019) (offence: bringing wildlife into the country without authorisation)

 • Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017) (offence: importing restricted/prohibited goods into the Kingdom)

 • Animal Epidemics Act B.E. 2558 (2015)

The suspect was taken to Suvarnabhumi Police Station for legal proceedings. The rhino horns were seized and sent to the Wildlife Forensic Laboratory Center for species identification before being used as evidence against him.