A tourist was arrested at Bangkok Airport trying to smuggle 25 live birds onto a flight.
The Maldivian heading home to Male was caught with the rare birds which included black hawks, buffy fish owls and barred eagle-owls, an airport official said.
All the species are protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.
They were crammed into the tourist’s luggage.
The tourist arrested will likely be charged under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act.
Wildlife trafficking in Thailand is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
