Police arrested a Vietnamese couple suspected of attempting to smuggle more than 100 kilogrammes of African ivory to Cambodia through Bangkok, officials said on Friday.
Bangkok police arrested a Vietnamese couple suspected of attempting to smuggle more than 100 kilogrammes of African ivory. (Photo by Panumas Sanguanwong)
"This is the first time we've arrested Asians being used to smuggle in African ivory to Asia," Customs Department deputy director-general Yuttana Yimgarund said.
He said past ivory smuggling attempts usually used African nationals as the traffickers.
Pham Ngoc Tuan and his wife Pham Thi Kim Chi were arrested Thursday at Suvarnabhumi Airport after customs officials found carved pieces of 23 African elephant tusks in their four carry-on suitcases.
The couple, who face a maximum jail sentences of four years if found guilty of smuggling and trading in endangered species, flew in to Bangkok on an Ethiopian Airlines flight from Angola.
They had booked tickets on a Bangkok Airways flight for Siem Reap in western Cambodia.
The 105kg of ivory, sawed up into 30 centimetre pieces and carved balls for necklaces, had an estimated worth of 16 million baht, Mr Yuttana said.