Protected dusky leaf monkey seized in Bangkok trafficking raid

Wildlife officials have arrested two Thai nationals in Bangkok’s Bang Khae district who were allegedly attempting to smuggle a protected southern dusky leaf monkey out of the country.

The animal is valued at about 90,000 baht on the black market.

The arrests were part of a crackdown by police and wildlife officials on a transnational wildlife trafficking network.

The raid on a house in the district was the result of an expanded investigation into an international wildlife smuggling ring, which led to the arrest of six Indian nationals in 2024 and a key Indian female suspect in February this year.

Following the raid, officers executed a search warrant at a residence in Amphawa district of Samut Songkhram province.

There, they found several controlled but legally possessed animals, including three African spurred (sulcate) tortoises, two Patagonian maras and six capybaras.

Investigators believe the suspects had acquired the monkey from a neighbouring country with the intention of supplying it to a broader trafficking network.

The two suspects have been charged under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act with the illegal possession and trade of protected wildlife.

The rescued monkey has been transferred to wildlife specialists for ongoing care and rehabilitation.