Police raid nets protected marine life

RAWAI: Police are trying to identify the owner of a house in the Sea Gypsy village in Rawai after a raid on it revealed 18 tanks containing 19 pieces of live coral, 130 sea anemones, and more than 2,000 fish of protected species. Pol Col Sati Malakanont, superintendent of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that the house was raided early this morning after Chada Wangboonkong, specialist head officer of the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office, reported that he had heard that someone in the village was taking protected species from the sea and selling them. In the house, police also found equipment and other evidence suggesting that the fish, coral and anemones were to be sold to agents in Bangkok and overseas. The equipment and marine life were handed over to the Phuket Marine Biological Center. Attempts to find out from neighbors who was living in the house were met with expressions of ignorance. Police say they will continue their search so that the culprit can be charged with violating several laws on the protection of wildlife.