Phang Nga –
A middle-aged man was arrested with eight macaque monkeys that had been illegally trapped which were then seized by relevant officials in the Khura Buri district.
On Thursday (November 23rd), a team of officials led by the Khura Buri District Chief Mr. Wiyut Thongpaen and the Border Patrol Police Division 425 arrested Mr. Gopon Jamnong, 58, a local resident of Khura Buri. He was arrested at his house in the Bang Wan sub-district. Seized from him were eight live Southern pig-tailed macaques.
The arrest followed after relevant officials were notified by a concerned citizen that there was a local man in the area who was illegally catching wild animals to sell.
Mr. Gopon admitted to police that all the macaques had been trapped by him. He stated to police that he caught the macaques in a forest near his home. The macaques were planned to be sent to unidentified customers who had ordered them in Surat Thani and in Malaysia.
Mr. Gopon was taken to the Khura Buri Police Station to face charges of catching protected wild animals without permission.
The monkeys will be inspected and treated for any medical issues and then safely released back to their native habitat, stated Mr. Wiyut
