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A suspected member of a wildlife trafficking syndicate was arrested and 138 pangolins confiscated by Thai Customs authorities.

Thai news portal MCOT identified the suspect as Pracha Ramai, who admitted the endangered scaly anteaters were destined for Chinese consumers in Laos.

Mr Pracha said that he had picked up the pangolins from Songkhla’s Hat Yai and planned to deliver them to a trader in Nong Khai who would resell the endangered species to the Chinese customers in Laos.

The suspect was arrested when he stopped to refuel his truck in Chumphon

In January, 180 pangolins were seized in Thailand and one smuggler arrested.

Prior to this incident, as estimated 600 – 700 pangolins have been seized from wildlife smugglers across eight countries since the beginning of 2012.

Hope for pangolins

An International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN-SSC) specialist group has was established for pangolins in February of this year.

The IUCN-SSC Pangolin Specialist Group’s mission is to “be a global voice for pangolins by working to advance knowledge and understanding of pangolins worldwide, their conservation needs, natural history and ecology and to catalyze action to meet these needs.”

Author: Rhishja Cota-Larson. Learn more about Rhishja here.