Thai police arrest 2 Thai traffickers of African ivory

Samat Chokechoima and Kanok Wongsarot were arrested on Monday in a sting operation in which Thai police posed as buyers of carved African ivory items, said Pol Lt-Colonel Thanayos Gengkasrikit, spokesman of the Natural Resource and Environmental Crime Division.

The suspects face a maximum of four years in prison and fines of up to Bt40,000 under Thailand's Wild Animal Preservation and Protection Act and another fine up to Bt100,000 under the Customs Act for the import and export of illegal goods.

Described as "middle-level operators", the arrest of Samat and Kanok was the result of a year-long investigation involving Thai and US officials, along with the Freeland Foundation and the Asean Wildlife Enforcement Network (Asean-WEN).

"These arrests illustrate how Southeast Asia's law-enforcement authorities are starting to catch up with international organised wildlife crime," Freeland executive director Steve Galster said. 

"Successful enforcement actions like this demonstrate that wildlife criminals operating in Southeast Asia need to watch their backs."

The Asean-WEN was set up in 2004 to strengthen regional coordination between police and customs officials to crack down on the billion-dollar traffic in endangered animals and plants and exotic wildlife items, such as African ivory.           

Southeast Asia is a major hub for the illicit global traffic in African ivory worth an estimated US$10 billion to $30 billion (Bt332 billion and Bt996 billion) a year.

Thai customs in August seized two tonnes of African ivory worth an estimated $1.5 million.

Similar seizures have been reported in other Southeast Asian airports, including a seizure of 3.5 tonnes of elephant tusks worth $2 million in Manila in May, and 6.2 tonnes of African elephant tusks worth an estimated $29 million in March at Hai Phong Port, Vietnam.

The illegal international trade in ivory is deemed the primary reason for the continued decline of Africa's elephant population.