800 dogs rescued from smugglers in Nakhon Phanom

Navy officers rescued more than 800 dogs just as they were about to be smuggled across the Mekong River to Laos.

A Mekong patrol unit headed by Captain Thirakiart Thongaram found the dogs detained in more than 40 cases on a sixwheel truck on the riverbank in Don Paeng village in Tambon Ban Paeng, Ban Paeng district at 4am.

The Navy officers also arrested Preecha Utthasri, 37, a local villager, who allegedly took part in the smuggling. His accomplices fled the scene, Thirakiart said.

Thirakiart said the dogs were about to be transported across the river to Laos and sent to Vietnam. He said about 100 empty cases were found at the spot.

He said the empty cages indicated that more than 2,000 dogs might have already been shipped to Vietnam.

The spot where the 800 dogs were rescued is about five kilometres away from the location where police earlier rescued about 1,800 dogs from smugglers.

The 800 dogs will be taken to a shelter where they will be monitored for possible communicable diseases for a period before being sent to various dog shelters, the Navy captain said.

A wellinformed source said dog smugglers liked this spot as it is on the shortest route to Vietnam via Laos. The source said the smugglers have received orders to ship many dogs to Vietnam before the Chinese New Year.