When, within the early hours of December 9 Pol Maj Narongwet Ohn-sungnen, an Inspector with the Amnat Charoen Highway Police, obtained a tip-off that a pickup truck with a cargo of illegally obtained wildlife was heading his means, he acted swiftly. He ordered street blocks to be arrange and at 3:30 am an outdated bronze Mazda pickup – precisely matching the outline given by the informant – turned up at considered one of them. The game was not up so simply, however. Instead of stopping, the motive force sped via the checkpoint. All items have been mobilized to provide chase and ultimately the suspects were caught close to Baan Kai Kham. Crammed behind the truck, police found 85 long-tailed macaques, all in a pitiful condition. The driver of the truck, Pramot Seupsing, 30, and his accomplice, Sompot Phlaphon, also 30, possibly realizing that claiming the monkeys climbed in by themselves wouldn’t fool the nice minds of the Highway Police, promptly confessed that they’d snatched the animals from close by Don Pu Ta wildlife sanctuary. This in itself isn’t so uncommon a narrative; the smuggling of protected wildlife for food, fur or the pet commerce is a worldwide problem. However, based on the two suspects, the monkeys in query weren’t destined for a Chinese or Korean banquet, but had been ordered by monks in Central Thailand. The males admitted that this was not the primary time they had been concerned in monkey rustling and that the animals were extremely valued at temples as they’re in style among villagers and encourage locals to return to temple gala’s and donate generously. Savings cast the temples in a great gentle as they’re seen to be caring for wild animals, the rustlers claimed. A few days later this seemingly wild allegation was given substance by no much less a person than Phra Khru Kittiphachakhun, the Lord Abbot of Chondaen District, Phetchabun, who admitted that a monk in his district had previously been accused of receiving stolen monkeys and may nicely be concerned in this case. The Lord Abbot defined that in earlier cases, the monk in qu