BANGKOK, Thailand – An Omani man travelling from Suvarnabhumi Airport to Muscat was arrested after officials found 22 live wild animals concealed in luggage checked in for the flight. The seizure, reported on 16 September, took place on 8 September 2026, according to Santhanee Phairattanakorn, director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Customs Inspection Office, with customs officers working with the airport wildlife checkpoint and other agencies in the operation.

Wildlife Trafficking Ring Smashed in Bangkok, Four Indians Arrested

The animals, valued at more than 60,000 baht, were found inside the passenger’s checked baggage, including two monitor lizards, one ball python, five bearded dragons, eight leopard geckos, two meerkats and four sugar gliders. The case follows a policy directive from Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Dr Ekniti Nitithanprapas, who instructed the Customs Department to work more closely with law-enforcement agencies to tighten import and export controls and prevent wildlife trading.

Customs Department director-general Phanthong Loykulnant and Nuntitha Sirikup, an adviser on customs control-system development, subsequently ordered stricter searches on all potential wildlife-trafficking routes, with particular attention given to animals hidden in baggage carried by departing passengers. Santhanee said the arrest reflected an ongoing trend of attempts to smuggle live wildlife out of Thailand, warning that such cases could damage the country’s reputation as a point of origin or transit route for international wildlife trafficking.

Sri Lankan Wildlife Smuggler Caught with Pythons Hidden in Underwear at Bangkok Airport

The alleged offences in this case fall under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act 2019, the Animal Epidemics Act 2015, the Customs Act 2017 and other applicable laws. Suvarnabhumi’s Passenger Customs Inspection Office said it has continued to increase surveillance and checks of passengers assessed as being at risk of involvement in wildlife smuggling.

-Thailand News (TN)