Police recover jumbo stolen 2 months ago

A female elephant stolen by a gang two months ago from Krabi province has been found by police starving in Trang's Na Yong district.

The police came across the seven-year-old Phang Songkran chained to a tree at the foot of the Banthad mountain range.

Elephant thieves have been active in recent months in the South. The gangs usually demand a ransom from the owners for the beasts' return, police said.

Phang Songkran belongs to the Ayutthaya Elephant Palace and Royal Kraal, which allowed a circus from the northeastern province of Chaiyaphum to borrow the beast and take it on a tour of the South. It was stolen during a show in Krabi on June 26.

The hungry elephant was well fed before officials transported it from the area and contacted the elephant camp.

Elephant camp manager Itthipan Kaolamai yesterday said the camp received a phone call from the thieves demanding a ransom in return for the animal's freedom. The gang asked for 350,000 baht.

Police traced the phone call and found the animal but not the gang.

Mr Itthipan said the government was asked to crack down on elephant thieves in the South as they were believed to be working for a foreign network of illegal elephant suppliers.

Several elephant ransom cases have been reported in recent months, particularly in the southern provinces, he said.

Laithongrian Meephan, owner of the Ayutthaya elephant camp, said if the owners were not willing to pay the ransom asked for the return of the stolen elephants, they were usually sold to Malaysian buyers who were willing to pay as much as 800,000 baht for each animal.

Mr Laithongrian said most of the elephant thefts occurred either in Nakhon Si Thammarat or Yala provinces.

Two of the gang leaders have been identified as "Mr Yao" and "Mr Muan", who are said to be working for local business owners.

Mr Laithongrian, also chairman of the elephant protection society, Prakosjaban Foundation, said his foundation was prepared to buy and install microchips in more than 100 elephants under its care so they could be traced if they were stolen.

Each chip contains information about the elephant and its owner and could be read by a special device.