Mongolian arrested trying to smuggle komodo dragons, pythons out of Thailand

Bangkok: A Mongolian man has been arrested at Thailand’s main airport for allegedly trying to smuggle komodo dragons, pythons, tortoises and 24 live fish out of the country, authorities said on Monday.

The man was arrested on Saturday after officials searched luggage he had checked for a flight from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport to Mongolia’s capital Ulaanbaatar, customs department spokesman Phantong Loykulnanta said.

The search revealed two komodo dragons, six Indian star tortoises, eight iguanas, five pythons, one boa constrictor and 24 live fish.

Authorities charged the man with smuggling protected animals, the customs department said.

Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell the animals on to China and Vietnam.

Last October, Suvarnabhumi airport suspended an airport worker after a traveller smuggled more than 30 live animals onto a flight to Taiwan.

The mobile menagerie included two baby otters, 28 baby tortoises and a marmot.