Thai Authorities Seize Tortoises from Passenger at Bangkok Airport in Latest Smuggling Incident

A 19-year-old passenger bound for Taipei was arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport on Wednesday after attempting to evade security with dozens of fist-sized tortoises strapped to her body, the South China Morning Post reported. The teenager allegedly had the tortoises taped under her clothing in the smuggling attempt.

The incident followed a seizure a day earlier, when hundreds of live turtles, bright blue-green iguanas and a freshwater crocodile arrived in Bangkok from Bengaluru, India, and were confiscated by authorities.

On April 18, an Indian woman tried to check in a box containing raccoons at the same airport, according to the South China Morning Post. One of the raccoons had died in the nearly airless container by the time airport authorities detected the box. A few days before the raccoon incident, chameleons and a pair of endangered gibbons destined for India were seized at Suvarnabhumi airport.

These seizures occur amid a trend where cuddly and colorful animals are featured on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and YouTube in India, with advice shared on raising species such as lemurs or iguanas in urban settings far from their natural habitats, the South China Morning Post reported.

Cuteness has become a commodity in Asia’s social media world, positioning Thailand’s main airport as a hub for wild animal smuggling. Thailand serves as a key pipeline in the global trade of exotic animals, often feeding demand in congested megacities in India.