When talking about suspicious packages, one may not always think of the nether regions — except for airport officials in Thailand, who noticed a suspicious bulge in a man’s pants.
Upon inspection, they found two otters in his boxers, which he allegedly tried to smuggle out of the country.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
Thankfully, he was caught at the airport before he could accomplish the deed.
In a Facebook post, Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) said the incident happened on Tuesday (5 Dec) at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport.
A passenger from Thai Airlines flight TG632 to Taipei had reportedly aroused suspicion.
While the 22-year-old Taiwanese man was passing through the X-ray machine, customs officers noticed a strange bulge in his pants.
Either he was really happy to be going home, or something untoward was afoot.
Reckoning it was the latter, airport officials referred him for further inspection, which involved pulling down his pants.
When he did so, the bulge became even more obvious.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
Upon further inspection, officials found furry creatures stuffed in socks inside his boxers.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
A video subsequently showed the man removing the socks, which he had stuck to his lower body by wrapping sticky tape around his thighs.
Source: New York Post on YouTube
He then placed three small animals in a tray, still wriggling in their socks.
Source: New York Post on YouTube
According to DNP, the man was hiding two small-clawed otters and one prairie dog in his undergarments.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
As these animals are protected, the man faces charges for offences under Thailand’s Customs Act, Animal Epidemics Act and Animal Conservation and Protection Act.
Wildlife control officials and customs officers received an alert regarding the incident at 9.05pm.
The Wildlife Conservation Office later took the poor creatures under their care.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
Sadly, this isn’t the first case of alleged otter smuggling from Thailand.
In October, a woman made it past customs at Suvarnabhumi Airport and boarded a VietJet Air flight to Taipei.
However, an otter and a rat were later found scurrying around the plane to the alarm of passengers, reported the Bangkok Post.
It turns out that they were among several animals that the woman had allegedly smuggled onto the plane in a black tote bag.
The bag reportedly contained 20 Burmese star tortoises, a snake, two otters, a prairie dog and two black giant squirrels.
After the latest incident, Customs Department spokesman Phanthong Loykulnant was quoted by the New York Post as saying that Thailand “is not a gateway to smuggle exotic animals”.
Source: Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook
He promised that the authorities would catch anyone who attempted to take animals onto planes.
Hopefully, for the animals, they will step up their vigilance to ensure smugglers don’t succeed.
Also read: Man Allegedly Smuggles Animals Into S’pore To Pay Family’s Debts, Gets 24 Weeks’ Jail
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Featured image adapted from Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation, Thailand on Facebook.
The authorities have investigated and closed the incident with no follow-ups required, MFA said.
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