On Labor Day (May 1), a Thai couple entered two mini zoos in the Bangkok area and stole three animals. They were eventually arrested at their residence in the Don Mueang district.
According to Thai media reports, Pata Zoo shared images of the two male and female suspects on its Facebook page on Wednesday (6th), publishing not only their physical characteristics but also details of the incident.
The zoo said the theft occurred around 11 a.m. on May 1, while the zoo was crowded with visitors.
According to staff descriptions, the female suspect has short hair, wears glasses, is dressed in a black vest, and has a large tattoo on her right arm. The male suspect has a beard and a short, parted hairstyle, with obvious twitching around his eyes.
After entering the zoo, the suspects changed into black jackets with a McDonald's logo and walked straight toward the exotic animal area.
CCTV footage shows the male suspect forcefully prying open two reptile display enclosures, while the female suspect removed a Chinese crocodile lizard and a tiger salamander, hiding them inside her jacket.
The two then quickly left the zoo, retrieved the squirrel monkey at the entrance, and fled the scene. Afterwards, zoo staff speculated that the monkey might also have been stolen from elsewhere.
The zoo revealed that they have reported the incident to the police and submitted the surveillance footage as evidence.
Around the same time as the theft at Pata Zoo, another animal attraction in Bangkok, the Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo, reported on social media that a squirrel monkey named "March" had gone missing. According to reports, the monkey disappeared at around 5 a.m. on the same day.
The zoo operator suspects there might be a connection between the two cases and believes the monkey in the suspects’ backpack is likely the one missing from Peuan Deratchan Mini Zoo.
According to the 'Matichon' newspaper, police confirmed that the pair had stolen animals from two zoos and that all animals have now been safely recovered.
The suspects have been charged with theft by damaging property-protecting barriers, violating Article 335(3) of Thailand's Penal Code, which carries a sentence of 1 to 5 years in prison and a fine ranging from 20,000 to 100,000 baht (about 2,431 to 12,159 ringgit).