Many live monitor lizards and turtles as well as wildlife carcasses seized during a recent raid in Suphan Buri province were not used for making meatballs or fish balls, police said on Thursday.
Wildlife officials and police arrested two men and seized 32 live monitor lizards, 59 carcasses of monitor lizards, 28 live turtles, carcasses of other protected wild animals and 13 items of equipment used for slaughtering during the raid on a house-cum-illegal slaughterhouse on Tuesday.
A total of 115 live wildlife and carcasses were seized.
Two men were charged with colluding in illegal possession of protected animals and illegal trade in wildlife.
They told police that they had purchased live wild animals and wildlife carcasses from residents in Suphan Buri and nearby provinces. They then slaughtered the animals and delivered meat for sale to eateries serving wildlife meat in Trat, which borders Cambodia.
The suspects denied the meat was sent to a factory making fish balls or meatballs as previously reported.
