Police have arrested alleged poachers caught shooting wild monkeys 'to sell their brains' in Thailand.

Police were alerted to the group after they were reportedly filmed by youngsters shooting at several macaques in a neighbourhood alley in Lopburi province on April 17.

The two children aged nine and 12 said they thought the group were merely trying to feed the monkeys, but became suspicious when they saw the wild animals being caught and hauled inside the black sedan.

They told their mum Chaturong, who then called her neighbours before calling out the suspected poachers - a female driver and two men - from inside her home. Her outburst caused the suspects to flee.

Chaturong then reported the incident to local police.

Officers found one unconscious monkey and two tranquiliser darts at the scene. The cops consulted well-known local monkey lover Suthip Tantiwong, who believes the gang were selling the monkey's flesh as illegal medical supplements.

He said: 'They probably operate by luring the monkeys into empty alleys using food before tranquilising them. They likely sell the monkey's meat to foreigners interested in consuming exotic food. Some people believe that eating monkey brains can increase their intelligence.'

He added that most monkeys in the wild were too aggressive, prompting the alleged hunters to target the more docile ones in the city instead.

Police Colonel Kantaphon Wanna, superintendent of the Tha Hin Police Station, ordered a search for the suspects.

Since the license plate was visible in the footage, officers easily tracked down the sedan to a rental house in Uthai Thani province on April 19. There, they arrested Komsan Chamsai, 14, Sawinee Sukcham, 29, and Putsadee Klaiphueng, 43. They also seized a monkey corpse found in the house.

The group were charged with hunting the protected crab-eating macaque in violation of Thailand's Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.

They allegedly admitted to shooting the monkeys with tranquilisers to sell to a merchant in Phetchabun province for 3,000 THB (87 USD) each. They were able to catch six monkeys in Lopburi, but one had died in transit, so they brought it back to their rental house, they told police.

Police Colonel Kantaphon said: 'The suspects told us it was their first time hunting wild monkeys. We suspect they have done this many times. We are continuing with investigations to find others involved in the operation.'