MUKDAHAN - About two hundred dogs were rescued from a smuggling racket on Sunday as they were about to be taken across the Mekong River, police said.
The dogs, crammed into cages on the back of two pickup trucks, were intercepted by members of the navy’s Mekong Riverine Operation Unit (MROU) while being transported to tambon Bang Sai Yai in Muang district, where they were to be shipped to Laos.
The animals, most of which appeared exhausted, were reportedly destined for slaughterhouses to be turned into food, MROU commander Surasak Suwannakaesa said.
Suspects Wiroj U-toom, 26, Boonthanorm U-toom, 31 and Mongkol Pimchan, 29, who are natives of Buri Ram, Si Sa Ket and Surin respectively, were arrested on charges of trading and relocating animals without permission and animal cruelty.
The three suspects allegedly confessed that they were hired by a gang to transport the dogs from Khukhan district of Si Sa Ket to the spot where the animals would be shipped to Laos.
Capt Surasak said one of the pickups had recently been used by dog trafficking gang members and seized by police after they arrested them. He said the suspects were released on bail but the vehicle should have remained in police custody as evidence because the case had not ended. He said he would ask police investigators handling the case how the pickup came to be used in the latest bust.
Photos by Chuchart Treeprapakorn/ Wallapa Kuawattanapan