A woman and a man have been arrested for stealing a Chinese crocodile lizard and a tiger salamander from Pata Zoo, a private zoo in a department store in Bang Phlat district of Bangkok.
Zoo management posted a notice on its Facebook page on Wednesday night about the suspects, aged between 23 and 25, who were caught on CCTV footage dated May 1.
They arrived at the zoo on the 6th and 7th floors of Pata Pinklao Department Store at 10.40am. Both had jackets tied around their waists and carried a blue backpack containing a baby squirrel monkey, which they left at the ticket counter, the zoo said.
About 20 minutes later, the woman was seen prying open a reptile enclosure while using the jacket to block visibility. The man accompanying her did the same with another enclosure.
They then took the reptiles, later identified as a Chinese crocodile lizard and a tiger salamander, and placed them into a backpack they had brought. Afterward, they walked away from the area, retrieved the monkey they had left at the counter and fled.
Police arrested the suspects at their residence in Don Muang district, where many exotic animals were found, including the reptiles.
Pata Zoo has operated since 1983 on the sixth and seventh floors of the department store.
