It could have been an otter disaster! Airport worker is suspended after it’s discovered he’d allowed more than THIRTY animals onto plane where otter and rat ran rampant
A Thailand airport has suspended one of its employees after a traveler smuggled more than 30 live animals, including two baby otters, onto a flight to Taiwan.
The mobile menagerie, which also included 28 baby turtles and a marmot, was seized when the Thai Vietjet flight landed at Taipei’s Taoyuan Airport on Wednesday.
Local media reported that the unusual cargo came to light when several animals escaped and crawled around the plane’s cabin.
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport said the animals slipped through screening due to human error.
“We examined the CCTV footage and determined that the smugglers were two foreigners who had their luggage scanned by an X-ray machine,” the airport said in a statement late on Thursday.
‘One of the employees was suspicious, so they ordered another to open the luggage. However, they did not check the luggage and allowed the passengers through.”
Shocking video showed an otter and a rat being smuggled in causing panic after running free – with the rat brutally biting one of the crew on the hand.
You can see a scared passenger trying to avoid the otter as it moves across the floor. The otter rolls across the carpet before being caught by the cabin crew
The 12-inch otter that caused pandemonium in flight
Taiwanese authorities said they were investigating the suspected smugglers.
Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, who often sell the animals to China and Vietnam.
Alarmed passengers noticed a giant albino rat with glittering red eyes as they walked to the bathroom on the Airbus A320 flying to Taiwan.
Confused flight attendants searched the plane and noticed a second wild creature: a foot-long otter under a seat.
Footage showed the otter rolling onto the floor near one of the seats before crew members frantically tried to resolve the situation, while passengers huddled in their seats watching the chaos unfold.
The crew is seen tying up a black bag that appears to contain at least one of the animals.
The otter is then shown moving around in a container at Taiwan’s airport before being transported.
Shockingly, a box containing 28 live turtles was also found when police searched the plane upon landing in Taipei after the three-hour and 45-minute budget flight operated by Vietnamese airline Viet Jet.
Officials launched an investigation into how the creatures were smuggled through security checkpoints at Thailand’s notoriously corrupt Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
A shocked passenger who filmed the scene said: ‘The flight took off as planned and the pilot announced that the seat belts could be loosened. I was walking back from the bathroom and my friend whispered softly to me, “There’s a rat on the plane.”
“I was confused, so he said again: ‘pet rat, pet rat, it has a white body and it is not small.’
‘I told the cabin crew and they checked the plane. Then they found the big otter under one of the chairs.
“They continued to look for the white rat and an employee caught the rat. He bit their hands as they carried him back to the kitchen at the back of the plane.”
Footage shows the rat moving across the floor near the passenger seat. One of the stewards then makes his way down the aisle as other pilots watch as chaos ensues
The cabin crew reportedly made an announcement ordering anyone who had brought animals on the plane to come forward.
The person filming said several seats were searched before a Chinese passenger “asked for a refund” and admitted the animals were hers.
Staff then called on a passenger who “spoke fluent Chinese” to help them discuss the situation with the woman, who is believed to have bought the creatures at a market in the Thai capital.
The filmmaker, who did not want to be named, said “every bag” was searched when the plane landed at Taiwan’s Taoyuan International Airport.
Police found a bag allegedly containing 28 star tortoises, a snake, a marmot, two otters and two other unknown rodents. The creatures were seen being removed from the aircraft.
The Taoyuan Department of the Ministry of Defense Inspectorate said yesterday that the star tortoises will be kept in quarantine and the rest will be sent to Pingtung University of Science and Technology for confirmation before being removed.
The cabin crew can discuss the incident. They use plastic gloves to tie up a black bag that appears to contain at least one of the animals
Police said the suspect was being questioned and a fine of up to NT$1 million (£25,532) could be imposed in accordance with the provisions of the Prevention and Control of Animal Infectious Diseases.
Bumbling airport chiefs admitted today that security staff spotted live animals in a passenger’s hand luggage but waved through the bags on the conveyor belt.
The rat and otter were among the catch, which also included turtles, a snake, a marmot and other rodents that appeared in an X-ray of the bag when it was checked at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.
But the guard on duty – who is now suspended and under police investigation – did not open the bag and immediately handed it back to the passenger without even questioning him, officials admitted today.
The airport said in a statement posted online: ‘In response to information published on social media, in the case of a passenger smuggling animals onto a Thai Vietjet flight departing from Suvarnabhumi International Airport on October 4, 2023 at 3:32 p.m. , before the destination at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, the Royal Thai Police inspected the work of the security company’s searchers.
“Police and airport staff checked the closed circuit television camera (CCTV) system and discovered that the passengers who brought the animals on board were two foreigners.
Video shows airport staff loading containers holding the animals from the flight. The otter is then shown moving around in a container at the airport before being transported
“Their bags were put through the X-ray machine at the search point by the image analysis staff at around 1.45pm. Being suspicious, the staff member handed the bag over to another staff member to open the bag and check whether the item in question was a dangerous or prohibited item or not.
“However, the said employee did not open the bag for inspection and allowed the passenger to pass through security checkpoints and continue to board the aircraft.”
The statement continued: ‘The Royal Thai Police would like to emphasize that the technology system used within the Royal Thai Police search points can operate according to standards and clearly defined procedures for checking prohibited items. But this case occurred due to the mistake of the employee who opened the bag inspection and did not adhere to the prescribed operating procedures.
“The police station has ordered the employee who was carrying out such work to stop working immediately. And if the results of the investigation reveal negligence in standard procedures, they will be punished according to the law.
“In this regard, the Royal Thai Police would like to remind all Thai and foreign travelers not to commit illegal acts by carrying animals or carcasses, both living and non-living, on aircraft into and out of the country.
‘If you want to take your pet with you on a trip, please apply for permission correctly. Otherwise, there is a risk of breaking the law, both Thai and foreign, and punishable by both a fine and imprisonment.”