A man has been detained in Phayao province after being caught in possession of a muntjac carcass believed to have been smuggled in from neighbouring Laos, the local national park authorities said yesterday.
Muntjacs, also known as barking deer, are a species of small deer.
The suspect was identified as Suay Phakaeo, 63, a resident of tambon Phu Sang in Phu Sang district who later was handed over to the police for further questioning, said Banthom Somsuwan, head of Phu Sang National Park.
Acting on a tip-off, a combined force of local administrative officials, military rangers and border patrol police apprehended the suspect on the Thailand-Laos border, said Mr Banthom.
Citing preliminary questioning of the suspect, Sutham Adnonla, assistant head of the national park, said the carcass was purchased in a town in Laos' Sainyabuli province before being smuggled into Thailand via a trekking path, which avoided the official immigration checkpoint.
The carcass is believed to be that of a young male muntjac, weighing about 26 kilogrammes, with a street value of about 2,500 baht, he said.
Mr Suay allegedly put the animal's remains into a sack before loading it onto the back of his pickup truck, but the head of the deer was still clearly visible when the authorities checked the vehicle's bed.
The authorities have stepped up patrols on the 10th and the 30th of every month when there is trade at a local border market, he said.
In Kanchanaburi, a team which had been monitoring a herd of 70 wild elephants near a forestry plantation in Thong Pha Phum district between Oct 30 and Nov 2 last year, has found another herd of about 30 wild jumbos, mostly mothers and their offspring, said an informed source.
The new wild elephant herd emerged from the Thong Pha Phum forestry plantation about 4pm on Monday, which prompted the team to act to prevent the elephants from wandering into farmland next to the plantation, said the source.
