Animal smuggler caught with a Noah's Ark of wildlife in his car
Thai wildlife officers have arrested a Malaysian man attempting to smuggle two baby orangutans, 51 tortoises and six raccoons across its southern border.
The animals were packed into plastic boxes and suitcases loaded into Ismail Bin Ahmad's car, officials said.
The 63-year-old was stopped as he was attempting to drive through a border checkpoint in Thailand's southern Songkhla province.
The suspect said he had been hired to transport the animals for approximately $33AUD, Prach Kongthong, a wildlife officer manning the border checkpoint, told AFP.
The orangutans were less than six months old and will be transferred to a local shelter, the wildlife officer said.
Most of the 51 reptiles were Indian star tortoises, an endangered species from South Asia with a unique star-patterned shell.
Thailand has long been a transit point for wildlife products headed for bigger markets in China or Vietnam.
In December Thai police rescued two baby orangutans as part of an undercover operation when officers posed as buyers over a mobile phone messaging app.
