Illegal slaughterhouse raided

PHUKET TOWN: Officials from the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) raided an illegal slaughterhouse in Phuket Town early today and made one arrest. Phuket Town municipal officers accompanied the officials, led by PPLO Chief Suranarth Vongchawalit, to premises on Mae Luan Rd about 1 am as part of a crackdown in a national Safe Food campaign. The meat from five pigs at the slaughterhouse was seized and later destroyed at Phuket Town Police Station. Dr Anucha Teerapittayanont, the PPLO veterinarian, told the Gazette that a man identified as Anucha Jaimai admitted that he owned the illegal slaughterhouse. He could face a maximum fine of 2,500 baht for each pig, or three months in jail, or both. In a separate early-morning raid at the Ranong Rd market, Livestock officials found about 250 kilograms of pork, stamped with a fake version of the official slaughterhouse imprint. No one admitted to owning the meat. The Phuket Town Municipality runs the only licensed slaughterhouse in Phuket.