At a waterfall in northeastern Buntrik-Yod Mon Wildlife Sanctuary a mature male elephant lay dead, with traces of a highly volatile bullet left in its mouth and its bud. Another AK47 bullet was found buried in its ribs.
A check of camera traps installed one kilometre away near the Thai-Cambodia-Lao border showed a man in what appeared to be a foreign military uniform and carrying an AK47 gun and GPS device, which brought to Chaiwat Limlikhit-aksorn’s mind the gangs of Phayung (Siamese Rosewood) loggers and drug traffickers roaming in the forest.
“It may have stood in their way, and so was killed. The GPS may have been used to check on Phayung locations,” said Chaiwat, who went to check on the incident himself before instructing his men to conduct a wide search for the hunter.
