Exotic pet thieves busted in Bangkok after viral sketch hunt

Bangkok police have arrested a couple accused of stealing a Chinese crocodile lizard and a tiger salamander from a private zoo.

A raid on their room uncovered other exotic animals, believed to have been stolen. The suspects allegedly told police they planned to sell the animals to buy narcotics.

The theft from Pata Zoo on May 1st at around 10.40am came to light after the zoo shared details of the incident and sketches of the suspects on its Facebook page.

Pata Zoo is a privately owned zoo on the 6th and 7th floors of Pata Pinklao Department Store in the Bang Phlat District of Bangkok

The sketches went viral and led to the couple’s arrest.

According to the zoo, the suspects, a man and a woman aged between 25 and 35, visited the zoo posing as regular tourists.

The zoo described the woman as having short hair, wearing glasses and a black sleeveless top, with a large tattoo on her right arm.

The man had a moustache and an intermittent eye twitch. He wore a jacket and carried a blue backpack containing a squirrel monkey, before leaving the bag at the ticket counter.

At around 11am, CCTV footage allegedly shows the pair opening the enclosures of the stolen animals with their bare hands.

The animals were placed in their backpack and smuggled out of the zoo. The pair also retrieved the squirrel monkey before leaving.

Pata Zoo subsequently filed a police complaint and released sketches of the suspects on Facebook.

After the post went viral, members of the public provided information and shared similar reports, including the alleged theft of a squirrel monkey from another facility, Friends of the Animals Zoo.

Police are interrogating the couple. A search of their room also uncovered other exotic animals stolen from other locations.

The Chinese crocodile lizard is listed under Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), making it a highly protected and critically endangered species in China.

Reports indicate that the reptile can fetch between 20,000 and 40,000 baht each on the exotic pet black market.

Meanwhile, the tiger salamander is a large terrestrial salamander popular among exotic pet enthusiasts in Thailand because of its distinctive markings.

Reports suggest prices range from 1,500 to 5,000 baht, depending on pattern, size and origin.