BANGKOK (AFP) – A man who was arrested as he attempted to smuggle a luggage-load of live endangered animals on a first class flight out of Thailand has escaped from the country, immigration police said Tuesday.
Noor Mahmood, a 36-year-old citizen of the United Arab Emirates, was detained on May 13 by undercover officers at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport with the animals -- all aged under two months -- in his cases.
They included four leopard cubs, a Malayan sun bear, a baby marmoset and a baby red-cheeked gibbon, according to wildlife campaign group Freeland.
Mahmood was charged with smuggling endangered species out of the kingdom and released on a 200,000 baht ($6,600) bail, but he left Bangkok on a May 23 flight to the UAE, immigration police told AFP.
Freeland called for Thai and UAE collaboration to continue with the case.
"Thai police did a great undercover operation to nab Mr Mahmood just as he was about to board his first class flight to Dubai," said the group's director Steven Galster.
"But since he was caught red handed and charged, we want to know why he is not being prosecuted?"
If he had been convicted in Thailand, Mahmood faced up to four years in jail and a 40,000 baht ($1,300) fine, police earlier said.
Thailand is home to some of the world's largest wildlife trafficking operations and Freeland is campaigning for the government to pass stronger laws against them.
