NationThailand-Oct 26
Customs Department director-general Panthong Loykulnunt joined Police Captain Piya Raksakul, director-general of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Prateep Hermpayay, deputy director-general of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, and representatives of other relevant agencies at a press conference on Monday (October 26, 2026) to announce a major interception at Laem Chabang Port involving a network smuggling ivory into Thailand. Customs officers seized more than 3.1 tons of ivory, along with wildlife remains, after finding them concealed inside modified sawn timber imported from Zambia. The seized items had a combined value of over THB155 million. Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) testing and further investigations into those involved were planned. The Customs Department has strengthened cooperation with relevant law enforcement agencies, tightening inspections of imports and exports at risk of being used to smuggle wildlife, plants and products subject to controls. This is a key responsibility in protecting society and natural resources, while supporting Thailand’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) to prevent the country from being used as a route for international wildlife trafficking. Intelligence sharing and joint operations with international agencies led customs officers to detain two suspicious shipping containers carrying goods imported from Zambia at Laem Chabang Port. The cargo was declared as 568 planks of sawn musivi timber, with a volume of 48 cubic meters and a total net weight of 56,000kg. Inspection revealed that 32 planks had been hollowed out and sealed with greyish-white wax to conceal ivory and wildlife remains. The seized items comprised 469 tusks and tusk sections weighing 3,042.67kg and 1,038 ivory fragments weighing 66.20kg, bringing the total ivory weight to 3,108.87kg, or more than 3.1 tons. Read more at:
