A suspected Vietnamese animal smuggler was arrested when he was caught packing birds into boxes in Thailand.

Hoang Ngoc Cuong, 36, was allegedly preparing to ship 58 red-whiskered bulbuls when police raided his two-storey townhouse in Bangkok on June 20.

Nawee Changpirom, director of the Cooperation on Natural Resources Division, said the operation resulted from a follow-up investigation of another animal smuggling case involving three Vietnamese nationals in January.

He said: 'Seven cages containing the red-whiskered bulbuls were confiscated from the scene. The suspect did not have the license to possess, trade, or breed the animals.'

During questioning, Hoang allegedly confessed that he had bought the birds from a Thai Facebook seller for 3,000 THB (64 GBP) each.

He said he had planned to ship them via an international bus to Vietnam, where they were expected to sell for 'tens of thousands of baht' each.

Hoang was charged with possessing protected animals without permission, which carries a penalty of up to five years imprisonment, a fine of up to 500,000 THB (10,700 GBP) or both.

He was handed over to the inquiry officer of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division for further legal action.

Meanwhile, the seized animals were entrusted to the Wildlife Conservation Office.

On January 8, three Vietnamese men were caught in Bangkok trying to smuggle 929 turtles, 21 red-whiskered bulbuls, six snakes, and four chameleons, on a bus.

The suspects, Nguyen Din Dai, 38, Nguyen Tien Thanh, 39, and Nguyen Duy Quy, 40, were detained and allegedly admitted they were hired to transport the wildlife to a bordering country.