Wild monkeys and meth were seized from alleged traffickers along the Thai-Cambodia border.

The protected animals were found stuffed in mesh bags when soldiers flagged a 'suspicious vehicle' driving in Sa Kaeo province on November 15.

The grey-black Toyota Revo was said to have swerved off the main road toward a natural border crossing, where two suspects emerged and began unloading blue mesh bags from the back of the vehicle.

Officers closed in and demanded a search, but the men scrambled back into their truck and sped away.

They abandoned their car to flee into a nearby forest, but were cornered by officers at a pond.

The alleged traffickers, Suwat Rungruang and Seubphong Chansomdee, were detained. Rangers seized from their truck 81 crab-eating macaques and an undisclosed amount of meth.

Colonel Chainarong Kasi, Commander of the Aranyaprathet Task Force, said: 'The arresting military officers handed over the two suspects and all the seized items to investigators at Khlong Nam Sai Police Station for legal proceedings.

'The 81 macaques were turned over to the Aranyaprathet Wildlife Checkpoint for care and to investigate the international wildlife trafficking ring.'

Sukhee Bunsang, Director of the Wildlife Conservation Office, said most of the macaques were in good health, but seven were weakened and one was in critical condition.

Just a day earlier, authorities discovered a separate haul of trafficked wildlife in the same province.

Patrol teams found boxes containing dozens of crab-eating macaques at a sugarcane field. The rescued animals were handed over to Wildlife Rescue Centre No. 2 Krabokkoo, while the case was forwarded to Khlong Hat Police Station.

Thailand is a major transit hub for animal trafficking. With its porous borders with Myanmar and Cambodia, the country is a key route for smuggled wildlife across Southeast Asia.