Officials seize 124,000 dried geckos in Pathum Thani warehouse raid
Officials raided a warehouse in Lam Luk Ka and seized 124,000 dried gecko carcasses linked to a transnational wildlife trafficking network.
Officials from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP), working jointly with relevant agencies, raided a warehouse in the Lam Luk Ka area of Pathum Thani and seized 124,000 dried gecko carcasses linked to a transnational wildlife trafficking operation. The items had reportedly been prepared for overseas shipment.
The raid was described as a major extension of a high-profile 2025 case. Two suspects were arrested at the scene, and a large quantity of evidence was impounded.
Naritpon Thipmontha, Director of the Forest Fire Prevention and Control Office, assigned Polawee Buchakiat, Director of the Special Operations Division and Director of the Wildlife Crime Intelligence Centre, and Nawee Changphirom, Director of the Natural Resources Cooperation Coordination Division, to lead the operation alongside relevant agencies in searching the suspected warehouse in Lam Luk Ka subdistrict, Lam Luk Ka district, Pathum Thani, under a search warrant issued by Thanyaburi Provincial Court.
During the search, officials found 124,000 dried gecko carcasses that had allegedly been smuggled in from abroad and packed in cardboard boxes ready for export. They also discovered other agricultural goods and natural resources, including sacks of dried orchids, buffalo horns, shredded wood panels and large quantities of wood powder.
Nawee said the operation was an expansion of an investigation by the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division in Criminal Case No. 14/2025, in which authorities had previously arrested suspects involved in the smuggling of 15,000 gecko carcasses on August 27, 2025.
Further investigation found that the warehouse had been used as a large storage site to collect goods before they were shipped overseas.
Initially, officials arrested two suspects, a man and a woman, who had rented the warehouse and admitted to handling the receipt and dispatch of the goods.
They were charged under two laws: Section 23 of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act BE 2562 (2019), for illegally importing protected wildlife carcasses without permission, and Section 242 of the Customs Act BE 2560 (2017), for importing or exporting goods that had not undergone customs procedures.
All seized items have been impounded at the warehouse because of their large volume, and officials have strictly prohibited their removal pending further legal proceedings.
