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Drugs and exotic animals are just a couple of the many things smugglers attempt to ferry across international borders to try to make a profit. Most busts involve authorities discovering one or the other, although officials in Thailand managed to check both of those boxes after stopping a truck that was carrying over 80 monkeys and some meth for good measure.
The illegal trafficking of drugs is second only to counterfeiting when it comes to the most lucrative forms of international crime, as that particular practice was believed to generate between $426 billion and $652 billion per year in a report that was published in 2017.
Wildlife smuggling earned the seventh spot on the list with an estimated annual value of between $5 billion and $23 billion thanks to the wide variety of species that are transported around the world to cater to crooked collectors and shady industries that rely on illicit animal products.
I am by no means an expert when it comes to the world of smuggling, but to my knowledge, most people who operate in that particular realm tend to specialize in one particular field. However, that may not have been the case with two men who are facing some serious charges in Thailand after being stopped in a truck filled with monkeys and meth.
Officials in Thailand executed a traffic stop that led to the seizure of 81 macaques and methamphetamine
Thailand is just one of the many countries in Southeast Asia with some incredibly strict drug laws, and many of those nations are also home to a wide variety of so-called “exotic” animals that can fetch a pretty penny in other places.
According to CBS News, members of the 12th Ranger Forces Regiment were patrolling the town of Aranyaprathet in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province on Friday as part of a crackdown on illegal activities in the vicinity of the Cambodian border.
Members of the regiment observed two men in a pickup truck unloading some blue mesh bags next to a channel near the border, and the duo hopped into the vehicle and fled the scene after being approached. The responding team searched the bags and discovered a number of live macaques, and they radioed other troops in the area in a successful effort to track down the fleeing suspects.
According to a Facebook post, a search of the truck led to the discovery of 81 monkeys along with an unspecified amount of meth in both bill and crystal form.
The suspects reportedly admitted to being hired to smuggle the macaques into Cambodia, and it seems like the meth that was seized may have been for personal use. It appears all of the primates were alive when they were recovered, and they were transported into the care of authorities at a local wildlife checkpoint.