The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) has unearthed details of the gorilla baby smuggling network based at Chatuchak Market, says DNP director-general Atthapol Charoenchansa.
The buyer who tried to bring in a baby gorilla from Türkiye was a millionaire businessman who collects exotic animals, he said without disclosing details.
He also ordered a crackdown at the market for being involved in ordering the gorilla, classified as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) which regulates export/imports of the species.
The infant gorilla was smuggled in a wooden box on a flight from Nigeria to Bangkok and was confiscated by the Customs Enforcement Smuggling and Intelligence Directorate at Istanbul Airport in Türkiye on Dec 21. The shipment was supposed to contain 50 rabbits.
Mr Atthapol said the person who made the order lives in Asia and collects exotic animals.
Investigators found the case was tied to a shop in Chatuchak Market as it acts as a centre for ordering and selling exotic animals from abroad. "When someone wants exotic animals, they go there because it has a network for importing and exporting exotic animals," he said.
Pol Maj Gen Watcharin Phusit, commander of the Natural Resource and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) said police searched the pet shop on Friday. The shop is owned by TK Farm in Nakhon Pathom which police raided on Dec 25. The company is registered as an animal importer and breeder.
Police also invited the company's owner to meet at the store to provide additional information, but he did not show up and turned off his phone. Investigators looked at whether boxes supposedly used to import rabbits were the same type of box containing the gorilla. Police said the farm owner claimed the boxes had been destroyed.
"If the farm owner is actually innocent, he should have come forward to the authorities, and told us how many times he has brought animals into Thailand and what types they were," he said.
Pol Maj Gen Watcharin said the police know the name of the foreigner suspected of involvement, but need to investigate further. Police will step up their probe with the Customs Department or the Department of Livestock Development.
