NAKHON SAWAN - Police have arrested a man with a wide range of products made from animal skins, mostly tiger hides, that he usually sold online.
The seizures took place on Tuesday during a raid conducted by Thai police and forest conservation officers along with representatives of the US Fish and Wildlife Service.
Chit Pasut-angkun was taken into custody at his house in tambon Nong Krod of Muang district in Nakhon Sawan, said Pol Maj Gen Watcharin Phusit, commander of the police Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division.
At the house, officers found three complete tiger skins, 44 pieces of tiger skin, 18 shoulder bags and wallets made from tiger skins, nine tiger skin belts, 22 bear claw keychains and four snake leather bags.
Pol Maj Gen Watcharin said the arrest was the result of a follow-up investigation after the arrest of traffickers of big cat carcasses last year. The subsequent investigation led authorities to another group of suspects who made bags and belts from tiger and snake carcasses.
According to the commander, Mr Chit confessed that he started to make the products at his house early this year and advertised most of them online. Bags sold for 2,000 to 5,000 baht each, belts for 1,900 baht and bear claw keychains for 250 baht, he said.
