Phuket police recover 100,000 baht of sea fan jewelry

PHUKET: A man smuggling sea fan jewelry into Phuket was arrested at Phuket’s main bus station yesterday afternoon.

Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Sarayut Maneerat, 39, at about 1pm, when he got off a bus from Krabi.

Officers found 111 pieces of jewelry made from sea fans, a protected marine animal, in his backpack.

The items included 102 bracelets, three necklaces, four rings and two pendants, said Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Phuket office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).

Mr Sarayut confessed that the illicit items belonged to him and was charged accordingly.

Under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act BE 2535, Mr Sarayut faces up to four years in prison, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both.

Mr Sarayut’s arrest came just two days after Chalong Police seized an abandoned longtail boat containing more than 600 illegally cut pieces of coral that were destined for the black market (story here).

— Woranut Pechdee