The joint operation on May 24 involved the Thai national parks, wildlife and plant conservation department and other enforcement agencies, Bernama reported.

Officers intercepted the 34-year-old suspect at about 3.45am near the boarding gate at the airport’s departure terminal.

The suspect was due to travel from the airport to the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport in Kolkata, India, at the time.

The animals, most of them alive, were found concealed inside a wheeled suitcase. They included two helmeted hornbills, two Patagonian maras (a type of rodent), 62 iguanas, five monitor lizards, 100 blue-tongued skinks and 80 freshwater turtles.

The suspect has been charged under the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act 2019, the Customs Act 2017, the Animal Epidemics Act 2015 and the Fisheries Royal Ordinance 2015.

The seized animals have been handed over to the wildlife and fisheries authorities in Bangkok.