A suspected Vietnamese smuggler was arrested for allegedly trying to carrying poached African rhino horns through an airport in Thailand.

The passenger, whose name was not disclosed by officials, was detained while transiting through the Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on September 6.

Customs officers pulled aside the passenger after he arrived from Angola on his way to Vientiane, Laos.

They searched his luggage and found five pieces of rhinoceros horn weighing more than 15 lbs (6.9 kgs) worth around 6.9 million Baht (159,591 GBP) on the black market.

Rhino horn is a lucrative alternative medicine in China - despite the horrific effects on the sub-saharan wild animals the horns are hacked from and no scientific evidence the ingredient has any effect.

Customs Department spokesman Phantong Loykulnanta said the arrest was part of a broader crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade in Thailand.

He said: 'The department has been closely monitoring offences related to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) using passenger data and intelligence.

'The Vietnamese man was identified as a 'high-risk traveller' potentially smuggling rhino horns through Thailand, leading to the search and arrest.'

The alleged smuggler was charged under Thailand's Customs Act, the Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act, and the Animal Epidemics Act.

Rhino horns are trafficked on the black market due to high demand in China, where they are used in medicine, luxury items, and as status symbols.


The illicit trade continues to endanger rhino populations despite international bans.

(1 GBP = 43.24 THB)