CityNews – Chiang Rai police and the military arrested three men after they were found to be smuggling 1,920 red-whiskered bulbuls, a protected species of bird, in baskets in the back of a pickup on October 27.
45-year-old Wichai Nuanyaem and his two friends were arrested when police inspected their pickup at a checkpoint.
Wichai confessed that he got the birds from a man who he didn’t personally know in Ban Tham Pla, Chiang Rai.
He was told to transfer the baskets to Bangkok. He would get 500 baht per basket.
The two other men in the vehicle claimed they knew nothing about the birds, and got in the pickup after Wichai packed the birds in the back.
According to Nipon Chamnongsirisak, director of The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department Chiang Rai Office, the penalty for those illegally possessing and trading protected wildlife is up to 4 years in prison, or up to 40,000 baht in fines, or both.
The vehicle has been seized as evidence, and the birds will be released into the forest.