SONGKHLA: A 44-year-old woman was arrested in possession of the carcasses of protected wild animals at the railway station in Chana district on Wednesday.
She was taken into custody by police from the National Resources and Environmental Crime Division. Police said she was a resident of Songkhla's Nathawi district and had been at the station to collect a delivery arriving by train.
Police had prior information that carcasses of protected wild animals would be arriving at Chana station from Narathiwat's Sukhirin district and were there, waiting, ahead of her.
When train No 448 (Surat Thani-Sungai Kolok) arrived about 11am, the woman was waiting on the platform. She collected styrofoam boxes and sacks from the freight carriage and placed them in the back of her car, which was parked outside the railway station. Police then showed up for a search.
Inside the boxes and sacks they found the carcasses of two langurs (weighing 9.5 kilogrammes in total), 54 squirrels (10.5kg), seven Bengal monitor lizards (10kg), one pangolin (4.5kg), two mouse deer (2.5kg) and two civets (10.5kg).
The woman allegedly admitted ordering the dead animals from a contact in Narathiwat's Sukhirin district and planning to deliver them to buyers in Chana district.
Police did not release the woman's name, but said she was charged with illegal possession of wildlife carcasses under the Wildlife Act (2019). The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and/or fine of one million baht.
