Thailand catches wildlife kingpin


In the bag: A Thai police officer filing the report on Boonchai after the suspect’s arrest in Bangkok. — AP

BANGKOK: Thai police have arrested a suspected kingpin of wildlife trafficking who allegedly fuelled much of Asia’s illegal trade for over a decade, officials said.

Boonchai Bach, a 40-year-old Thai of Vietnamese descent, was arrested on Friday in the northeastern border province of Nakhon Phanom in connection with the smuggling of 14 rhino horns worth over US$1mil (RM3.94mil) from Africa into Thailand last month, in a case that also implicated a Thai official and a Chinese and a Vietnamese courier, Thai police said.

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