BANGKOK (The Nation/Asia News Network): The canine unit at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Tuesday (March 21) added smuggled duck to the menu of illicit meats it has sniffed out in the luggage of passengers from China.
The Department of Livestock Development’s (DLD) Quarantine and Inspection Canine Unit detected seven bags of fresh duck meat hidden in luggage at the airport’s arrivals terminal.
The bags weighed one kilogram each and carried an estimated 2,100 baht (RM2,700) worth of meat.
The department said the bags were smuggled from China, but did not specify which province.
The meat has been sent to a lab to test for contamination and diseases, after which it will be disposed of by burying or burning in a furnace, said DLD director-general Somchuan Ratanamungklanon.
Thailand has cracked down on the smuggling of wildlife and meat to prevent the spread of diseases carried by animals.
Just last November, the DLD’s canine unit detected smoked bat, ham, and bacon smuggled from Kunming at Suvarnabhumi.
Pigs can carry African swine fever, bats can have the Nipah virus, and ducks can be infected with avian flu.
In December, the Livestock Department declared war on smuggled pork after its officials seized 40 tonnes of illegally imported meat at a warehouse in Samut Sakhon amid an outbreak of African swine fever.
Somchuan warned that anyone who smuggles animals or meat into Thailand faces punishment under Section 31 of the Animal Epidemics Act of 2015, which carries a maximum penalty of two years in prison, a 200,000 baht fine, or both.
