In a massive victory against the international trade in animal trafficking, a Vietnamese man who acted as head of a sophisticated international animal trafficking network has been arrested.
Forty-year-old Boonchai Bach was apprehended recently in a northeast Thailand province called Nakhon Phanom, which borders Laos. He was arrested in connection with the trafficking of 14 African rhino horns, worth $1 million dollars, from Africa to Thailand. The Associated Press report that Boonchai could receive a prison sentence of up to four years and a fine of 40,000 baht ($1,300).
Along with Boonchai himself, officials also managed to arrest a Thai official, a smuggler from Thailand and a courier from Vietnam. Thai Police Colonol Chutrakul Yodmadee said, “This arrest is significant for many reasons. The confiscated items are high in value. And we are able to arrest the whole network involved, starting from the courier, the facilitator, the exporter.”
Although Boonchai denies the allegations, investigators from Thailand say they have been following his family for many years. He was finally arrested when customs found the rhino horns concealed in cargo on arrival to the country. An official working for the airport was arrested initially, and led police to other people higher up within the smuggling network.
Over the last decade, the Bach family, led by Boonchai, trafficked huge amounts of endangered wildlife from Asia and Africa, including elephant ivory, rhino horns, pangolins, tigers and lions.
Freeland Foundation, an anti-smuggling organization, has been tracking Boonchai and his family over the last decade. Matthew Pritchett, Freeland Foundation’s communication director said, “One of the largest known wildlife traffickers in a really big syndicate has been arrested. In a nutshell, I can’t think of anything in the past five years that has been this significant.”
According to Freeland Foundation, the Boonchai syndicate was involved in massive international networks and are responsible for killing thousands of endangered elephants and financing poachers in Africa and Asia to do their dirty work.
This arrest is the latest success in Thailand’s recent crackdown on the illegal wildlife trade. Before the Elephant Ivory Act was introduced there in 2014 and 2015, the country was a main transit area for the ivory market; but in the last year, they have made several significant arrests, including the seizure of 236 pounds of African elephant ivory worth about $469,800 from a Bangkok airport last month.

Horrific what these people do and they deserve the harshest punishment.
Four years in jail is insufficient. Death sentence needs to be applied, and entire fortune of the Bach family be donated to to anti-poaching / animal sanctuary efforts. Nothing less for multiple murders.
why did’nt they stop them sooner? they knew who they were. only 4 years also !!! give them men 2 bullets in their heads 2 thats what I say.
Thank you men and woman for catching these killers of wildlife
Bless these great men who captured these killers of wildlife. This must have been a remarkable invesigation and being able to get these insensitive greedy monsters. Please keep up the good work and protect our wonderful beautiful wildlife that deserve to live so that we can marvel and cherish them for being here.
All I can say and think is HALLELUJAH and AMEN! Some good news in such a bad news world!
Praise God! It is movement forward, but I agree also with the statements that a small fine and 4 years is not justice; these people also need redemption so that they won’t do it anymore, to turn from their ways. Authorities need to come up with ways of recruiting people away from these trades and illegal activity, to redeem them, teach them about the sanctity of life and so on.
WHAT A SICK AND USELESS SENTENCE!!!!!!!!!!!. FOUR YEARS AND A SMALL FINE, WILL NEVER STOP THE BASTARDS!!!!!!!!!. SENTENCE THEM TO DEATH NOW, AND ANY OTHERS THAT ARE INVOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
Please please, now that he’s been caught, make his consiquinces more in line with his horrific crimes. After the killing of 1,000s of murders of endangered species, he should be held accountable. Why is this not happening?
I’m glad he was caught, but he basically got a slap on the wrist. Someone else will step into his place, unfortunately.
FOUR YEARS IS A JOKE. ALL INVOLVED KILLED THOUSANDS OF PRECIOUS ENDANGERED ANIMALS. THESE INHUMANE MONEY HUNGRY KILLERS MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND SERIOUS JAIL TIME FOR ALL. .
COMMENT
Hello that was so great to hear about that news these terrible people must be locked up.
Well I wouldn’t doubt this idiot is probably laughing all the way to the jail, knowing that all he got was four years for the horrendous acts he has done for so long to all those animals. That’s enough time for him to sit in jail (while he is being clothed and fed) to plan his next moves, and continue to do what he has been doing, the day he goes free. I’m glad the laws finally did something and he was caught. But as we all feel, four years is nothing for all the hateful things, and torture this piece of crap and his sub-human morons has caused those animals throughout the years. You mean to tell me that this is the worst punishment the law could think to enforce on him? Following him and his family for years trying to catch this guy at something and when they finally catch him and make it stick, that’s the best they could do? Oh yeah, that’s sending a nice message to all the other idiots out there who is thinking about doing the same thing, knowing they will just get a slap on the wrist when and if they are ever caught. I should have known. Great job law officials. At least I am happy they are out of circulation for a minute. Every little bit helps. When you release them, as I am sure you will, release them out in the wild bush with no weapons and plenty of hungry lions around.
Such good news 🙂 And I hope they have managed to “extract” from him all the information and every single name of those involved in his criminal organization.
Excellent news!
But four years in prison and a fine of the equivilant of $1,300 dollars – for all the damage and death this monster caused. I think this should be a capital criminal case, not what amounts to a slap on the wrist.
That’s the only way to make sure he doesn’t continue – we all know he will – and send a message to others that this will no longer be tolerated, and swept under the carpet by corrupt officials.
The punishment should fit the crimes.
GOOD! GOOD! GOOD! — This is very important — THANK YOU SO MUCH for finally capturing the Boonchai Monsters & Co. — penalties MUST be severe to ensure these monsters NOT to repeat NOR return to this horrific, unconscionable, insane, merciless, sadistic racket — at present, their sentence is rather lenient — will you be watching when the idiots are released from prison? — I believe a prison sentence of at least 10 yrs would be more appropriate. — God knows how dangerous these imbeciles are, how much brutal, horrific damage they’ve left in their wake.
This is such great news! Thanks for sharing!
Kill him slowly.
Kill him slowly ,
Very glad to hear this! Now, let’s get the rest of them!
Four years in prison is unfortunally to less for a crime like this, even if its good that they finally got him.
He should be given to the animals court and end up as a lionbate or give him to the elephants so they can run over him. So that this planet don´t have to see him again.
Kill him ….
Behind Bars? Lets throw him to the lions and be done with it!
This would be a JUST punishment surely.
IS THAT GREAT NEWS OR WHAT??!! I agree though, that 4 years incarcerated is nowhere near enough for this type of criminal. I can’t understand why the investigating agency that’s been working on this for 10 long years can’t get their arrested kingpin more time behind bars.
Four years in prison for this evil man is a slap on the wrist. He should have received at least twenty years in jail and a fine of about $,1, 000,000. Because of these light punishments people barely take these crimes seriously. It is shameful on the part of Thai police to act so leniently on wildlife smugglers.
You said it!
Amen!!!
(Damn shame only 4 years on the table- pitiful. There is no punishment equivocal to the heinous acts of brutality he has inflicted on so many wild animals, our global treasures. Throw away the key).
Absolutely!
DEAR LMS, I AGREE WITH YOU 100%.
So happy he got caught the dumbass piece of shit. He should be locked up in jail for the rest of his miserable life…..i am more then happy to throw away the key.
What a pathetically weak sentence compared to what he’s made from the bodies of the fallen!!! When he gets out he’ll do it again. They all will. They are criminals and murders and should be executed.
He must stay in jail and never be given a parol or he will continue harming these poor elephants!!!!
A big thanku to the Thai authorities for this and the seizure and arrests at Bangkok airport last month. However the bastard deserves more than 4 years prison. He deserves to be put to death for the heinous acts he has committed against innocent animals.
Justice prevails
Very good news. Thank you for your hard work. Prosecute to fullest extent of law
Feed him to the vultures.
Brilliant news let’s hope they string him up and leave him to rot ??
Congratulations, great work, huge bravo to Thai Police Colonol Chutrakul Yodmadee and to Freehand Foundation for this great arrest, a landmark victory in the history of animal abuse.
Boonchai should be in prision for life, this sick bastard deserves to be murdered like the Animals he has murdered! I hate anyone who preys on innocent Animals.
You’re on it; bless you!!!
Hope they are all caught!
Please somebody shoot him.
Yes, please do.
Otherwise when this repulsive person is free again, more than likely the creep will pick up where he left off and continue killing these magnificent animals. He has no right to harm anyone.
Oh, happy day!!!