Raid on smugglers saves 5 macaques

Phetchaburi: Authorities raided a house in Cha-am district on Thursday where they found the carcasses of 14 macaques, with five still alive but in a distressed condition.

A wildlife conservation team led by Prawet Sunthornthai, director of the provincial wildlife protection area, searched a rented house in Ban Khao Mainual in tambon Khao Yai where they discovered five macaques locked up in baskets without food or water.

Acting on a tip-off from a neighbour next door, the team also smelled a pungent odour, which led them to a large bag containing the carcasses of 14 other macaques.

Thursday’s raid followed the arrest last Friday of six members of a wildlife trafficking gang in Muang district of Phetchaburi.

Local police arrived in the foothills of Khao Luang in tambon Thongchai…