Sri Lankan man arrested at airport for smuggling pythons in underwear
Polavee Buchakiat, director of the Wildlife Crime Intelligence Centre, said officials received intelligence on Tuesday that a Sri Lankan suspect, identified only as Sheehan, arrived in Bangkok on Thai Airways flight TG308 at 12.06am.
Background checks showed that Mr Seehan had a record of trafficking various wildlife species, including wolves, meerkats, black cockatoos, sugar gliders, porcupines, ball pythons, iguanas, frogs, salamanders, and turtles. He had previously been arrested on wildlife charges in Colombo in 2024, Mr Polavee said on Thursday.
His agency then coordinated with the Thailand Wildlife Enforcement Network (Thailand WEN), which comprises multiple agencies such as the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, the Royal Thai Police Office and Airports of Thailand (AoT), along with other agencies, to monitor the movement of the suspected wildlife smuggler.
On Wednesday, Mr Sheehan left his accommodation in a taxi at about 6pm and arrived at Suvarnabhumi airport at about 7pm. After he checked in at the Thai Airways counter and tagged his luggage, officials invited him for further inspection using AoT's X-ray equipment. No illegal items were found.
Officials then asked for a body search that found three ball pythons (Python regius) — classified under CITES Appendix II and requiring import-export permits — hidden in his underwear, said Mr Polavee.
Authorities informed the Sri Lankan man that he had violated Section 23 of the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act for attempting to export controlled wildlife without authorisation and Sections 242, 166 and 252 of the Customs Act for attempting to export goods not cleared through customs.
The suspect was taken into custody for formal arrest procedures and further questioning. Authorities were expanding the investigation.
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