A 19-year-old Taiwanese woman has been arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport after allegedly attempting to smuggle 30 protected Indian star tortoises out of Thailand.
According to Thai media reports, the incident occurred at around 5.25am on April 28, when the woman was preparing to board a VietJet Air flight bound for Taipei. She was flagged by security officers during screening due to her stiff walking posture, visible anxiety, and unusual bulges on her body.
Authorities later discovered that she had concealed the tortoises by tightly binding them with tape to restrict movement, placing them into cloth bags, and strapping them around her chest, abdomen, and waist in an attempt to evade X-ray detection.
During inspection, officials found that one tortoise had died, while the remaining 29 were still alive. The Indian star tortoise is a highly protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and is known to fetch high prices on the illegal wildlife market due to its distinctive shell markings.
Thailand’s Department of National Parks said the arrest was the result of a coordinated operation involving multiple agencies, highlighting the country’s continued efforts to combat transnational wildlife trafficking.
The suspect has since been handed over to authorities for legal action and faces multiple charges under wildlife protection, customs, and animal disease control laws. The surviving tortoises have been placed under the care of Thailand’s wildlife protection officials and will be used as part of the ongoing investigation into the illegal trade network.
