Airport security finds hidden compartments in tree logs — with rare items inside
A Vietnamese national has been arrested in Thailand after X-rays showed suspicious shapes inside a series of logs he was bringing into the country through the airport, officials said.
The man, who was not identified, arrived at the Suvarnabhumi Airport from Angola on Sept. 6, according to a Sept. 7 Facebook post from the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
The traveler successfully made it through a transfer in Ethiopia before X-rays scanners at the Thai airport saw a suspicious horn shape within two of his packages, according to the post.
The man was carrying logs of wood, and officials saw that there were hidden compartments within the wood where the horn-shaped items were held.
The logs had been sealed shut after the items were placed inside, officials said.
When the logs were open, officials discovered five pieces of rhino horn hidden inside, according to the post.
The pieces weighed a total of 15 pounds and were valued at around 6.9 million baht, or roughly $217,000.
The horns were being smuggled illegally into Thailand, officials said, and the man was placed into custody according to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.
Rhino horns are made of keratin — like a horse hoof or bird bill – and are chemically rich, according to Save the Rhino.d link
It is used in traditional Chinese medicine, typically crushed into a powder. Many consider the powder an aphrodisiac, or a kind of “natural” Viagra, but there is no scientific evidence to suggest this is the case, according to Save the Rhino.
Angola is in southeastern Africa, along the coast of the Atlantic. Suvarnabhumi Airport is just outside Bangkok, Thailand.
Chat GPT, an AI chat bot, was used to translate the Facebook post from the Thailand Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.
