PHNOM PENH (Bernama): A series of high-profile seizures of endangered animals and wildlife products along the borders of Laos and Thailand has exposed a thriving black market that is harming countless species in the wild.
Lao authorities rescued animals and seized wildlife products in Luang Prabang and Champasak provinces last week, which signalled that traffickers are active in the region, reported The Laotian Times.
"The animals were being transported on an international passenger bus travelling between Pakse and Bangkok.
"The species are not native to Laos and are believed to have been trafficked across the border,” said the newspaper.
The Lao Wildlife Enforcement Network discovered 60 kilogrammes of suspected illegal wildlife products in the popular tourist destination of Luang Prabang during the operation.
Authorities confiscated ivory-like objects, animal gallbladders, pangolin scale materials, and rhino horns.
Boxes containing elephant skin powder, bear gallbladder, hornbill head and tubes of herbal medicine suspected to contain wildlife ingredients were also seized at the location, said the Laotian Times report.
Four days later, wildlife rangers intercepted 294 live wild animals at the Vang Tao International Checkpoint in Champasak Province that connects Ubon Ratchathani Province in Thailand.
Animals, including turtles, pythons, green snakes, gold-ringed cat snakes, and lizards, were seized from the suspects.
The major expose comes weeks after a Thai woman operating a traditional medicine and souvenirs shop was arrested in Nakhon Phanom, northeastern Thailand, on May 27.
Thai investigators seized more than 100 protected wildlife remains believed to be smuggled from Laos.
Meanwhile, according to a Traffic Southeast Asia Facebook post, authorities crippled a gang trying to smuggle 130 kilogrammes of cut elephant ivory and animal carcass along the Thai-Lao border on May 16.
Laos shares borders with Cambodia, China, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam, making it a strategic location for trafficking, according to wildlife experts.
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its World Wildlife Crime Report 2024 highlighted that the illegal trade remains rampant and affects thousands of species of animals and plants across the globe.
"Wildlife trafficking persists worldwide despite two decades of concerted action at international and national levels,” said the report, identifying corruption as a key facilitator for wildlife smuggling activities.
According to UNODC, global wildlife trade is worth nearly US$10 billion (RM41 billion), making it as lucrative as the trafficking of humans, narcotics, and arms trade.
-- BERNAMA
