Thai police ‘tweet’ out arrests in illegal bird trade bust

Thai police have swooped on a major illegal bird trade operation in southern Thailand, arresting two people involved in selling protected Bulbul birds via Facebook. The suspects admitted to selling thousands of birds over the past year.

Police officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division conducted raids on the homes of two individuals, known by their Facebook aliases as Mee Tha Kham and Ice Nok Ble. These raids took place yesterday in Surat Thani province, leading to the arrest of 48 year old Chinoros, who had been operating a significant illegal bird trade in the region.

Chinoros had been using his Facebook account to advertise the sale of the protected Bulbul birds, which were sent to buyers across southern Thailand.

Police, upon discovering Chinoros’s activities, sought and obtained a search warrant from the court. During the raid, police discovered and confiscated ten Bulbul birds from his property.

Chinoros confessed to purchasing the birds and keeping them at his residence before selling them to customers throughout the region. He acknowledged using Facebook to reach his large following, which had amassed several thousand followers over the past year. He admitted to having sold over a thousand birds during this period.

Chinoros explained that the gun seen in photographs on his Facebook profile belonged to a friend named Nueng. Law enforcement plans to track down this individual for further investigation.

In a related operation, police also raided the home of another suspect, 29 year old Kaysit, known on Facebook as Ice Nok Boen. Surrounding his residence, officers found numerous bird cages, some of which contained Bulbul birds. A total of 17 Bulbul birds were found, none of which had the required possession permits.

Kaysit admitted to purchasing these birds to resell them to customers throughout southern Thailand. He stated that he had sold thousands of birds, with prices ranging from 500 to 3,000 baht (US$15 to 85) each. Most of the birds he acquired were bought from third parties, and police are continuing their efforts to trace the origins of these transactions, reported KhaoSod.

The police have charged both Chinoros and Kaysit with possession of protected wildlife without a permit, an offence under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act of 2019. The suspects are now in police custody at Mueang Surat Thani Police Station, where they await further legal proceedings.