Cambodia Bound Monkey Smuggler Runs After Crashing Thai Car

Thailand: On the afternoon of October 1, 2021, a Toyotawas chased by Thai police, who suspected it of breaking the law. The car crashed and the driver fled the scene. The truck was carrying boxes of monkeys hidden under crates of fruit, of which 45 were alive and 44 were dead.

In the car, the suspect left a backpack, an ATM card of Amsin Bank, belonging to Vattanak Sopheap and two more license plates.

Conservationists say the monkeys are only two months to a year old, and most of them come from Phichit province, where traders then smuggle them to Cambodia to sell as special food or to send on to China. It is thought the car was on the way to the border when it was spotted.

Forces are searching for the car owner for questioning, while monkeys still alive were handed over to conservation groups at Phnom Hua Kan Trang in Prachinburi province to be released. AREY