Thailand wildlife unit hunts traffickers online

Thailand's wildlife crime officers are tracking traffickers online and going undercover to stop the illegal sale of animals ranging from monkeys to hornbills, leopards, ivory and corals.

Nawee Changpirom heads a raid unit in the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The department created a dedicated Wildlife Crime Intelligence Unit in 2023 with three permanent staff to monitor and intercept illegal purchases.

Polawee Buchakiet, the unit's director, said social media is now a key channel for buying and selling illegal animals. Traders often avoid explicit sale offers and use cropped images to hide locations, while undercover officers gather evidence needed for court warrants.

One undercover officer, using the pseudonym Tee, said he has posed as a repairman and a land surveyor to photograph suspected holding sites. He said some cases still haunt him when teams arrived too late and animals were dead or died soon after rescue.

A six-month-old leaf monkey recently treated by department veterinarian Thanawadee Phaichana had been intercepted in luggage at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport while bound for India. A second monkey found in the same bag died after being rescued.

Thanawadee said many smuggled animals are weak, and some are given sedatives or mild anaesthetic to stop them moving or making noise. Rescued animals in and around Bangkok often receive initial treatment before transfer to a sanctuary, but younger animals can struggle to learn survival skills needed for release.

Wildlife traffickers in Thailand can face up to 10 years in prison for crimes involving protected species, or 15 years for endangered species. Officials cited recent arrests and airport interceptions, but said they also face limited staffing, funding shortages and difficulty getting information from social media platforms.