Two Indian women, Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana, 24 have been arrested at an airport for attempting to smuggle over 100 animals including armadillos, porcupines, and snakes.
Gatekeepers News reports that the creatures were discovered when the two women passed through X-ray machines at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport in Thailand as they were bound to Chennai in India.
Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, with animals often bound for Vietnam or China where they are used in traditional medicines.
Officers found 50 chameleons, 35 turtles, 20 snakes, two armadillos, and two white porcupines stuffed into a pair of bags belonging to the women.
Two dead iguanas were also found and all of the reptiles were suffering from dehydration.
The Department of National Parks, Wildlife, and Plant Conservation said the creatures are being treated and will be moved to an animal centre or breeding facility.
Sathon Konggoen, Chief of the Airport’s Wildlife Inspection Office, said, “This kind of case has happened many times because the animals have expensive price tags in India.
“Animal trafficking is usually detected at the Thai-Myanmar borders and domestic airports to a certain extent.”
Konggoen estimated that the animals, believed to have been bred in Thailand, would be worth around 200,000 baht ($5,600).
The two women who have been charged with violations of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act, the Animal Epidemics Act, and the Customs Act, are being detained at a police station at the airport.
