Authorities on Thursday arrested two men transporting a restaurant-bound tiger carcass during a traffic stop in Tak province near the Myanmar border.
Police and soldiers found the butchered tiger and its internal organs in a Bangkok-registered Nissan at a checkpoint on Tak-Mae Sot Road in Mae Sot district.
The vehicle was travelling from the border towards Muang Tak district when it was stopped in Ban Huai Hin Fon village in Mae Pa sub-district of Mae Sot. The tiger body was in a black bag and organs were placed in Styrofoam boxes filled with ice.
The two men were identified as Niphon Suksombot, a native of Bangkok's Bang Kae district, and Luethai Diawcharoen whose address was unknown. They said they were hired to deliver the tiger to a restaurant in Bangkok.
Authorities were trying to find out where the protected animal was killed because there are several wildlife sanctuaries along the border in Mae Ramat, Tha Song Yang and Umphang districts of Tak.