More than 600 wild animals smuggled into Thailand on a flight from Egypt have been seized at Suvarnabhumi airport.
Yossathon Kongern, chief of the wildlife checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi, said on Friday that customs and wildlife authorities had found a total of 601 exotic animals in boxes at the Thai Airways International Cargo Terminal on Thursday.
They were shipped into the country on Egypt Air flight MS507 from Cairo.
The seized animals include 35 living Saharan and Arabian horned vipers. Others were lizards, snakes, skinks and scorpions.
The smugglers violated the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act for having imported protected wild animals without permission and the Customs Act for having imported goods which had not passed through customs formalities. They could also face a charge of violating the Animal Disease Control Act for having imported animals without permission.
Mr Yossathon said he had filed a report to police at Suvarnabhumi Airport police station.
The official did not name the sender and receiver of the cargo.
All the animals were handed over to the Wildlife Health Management Department and the Forest and Plant Conservation Research Office for further categorisation and conservation.
