TRANG, Thailand, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Thai police say they seized 111 endangered ant-eating pangolins worth $42,000 and arrested two suspects in a crackdown on an alleged smuggling syndicate.
The pangolins -- along with a customer list, two sets of scales and a pickup truck -- were confiscated Tuesday at a deserted restaurant in the southern province of Trang, MCOT reported.
Police had been tipped off about an alleged pangolin-smuggling ring, said Col. Thammanoon Traitippong, deputy commander of Trang provincial police.
Chon Wongfai, 33, and Thapanat Tanongbunditsakul, 45, were arrested. Two others escaped.
Chon and Thapanat said they had run the pangolin-trading for a year, authorities said. The two suspects said they did not know where their employers bought the pangolins.
Most customers were dealers in Satun, Songkhla and other provinces seeking to export and trade the scaly anteaters to a neighboring country.
