Thai court fines Indian trader for selling shahtoosh

Mir could have faced up to two years in jail and a fine of 41,219 baht ($1,200, euro 878). But a panel of five judges in Bangkok’s South Criminal Court sentenced him to two years probation and a 10,000 baht ($291; euro 213) fine, saying he had cooperated with authorities and had no criminal record. Authorities confiscated 23 shawls, but did not close down his store in central Bangkok.

Mir said he had “no problem” with the sentence while anti-smuggling activists had a mixed reaction to it. Some bemoaned it as little more than a slap on the wrist. “The fine will not deter any shahtoosh traffickers considering the profits made from one shawl are ten times the amount of the fine,” said Azrina Abdullah, a program officer for the wildlife monitoring network Traffic.

But others welcomed the conviction of Mir — the first shahtoosh trader to be punished in Southeast Asia.

“It demonstrates that when law enforcement officers and conservationists work together across agency and national boundaries, the illegal wildlife traffickers have less chance of getting away with these heinous crimes,” said Steven Galster, Director of Field Operations for Wildlife Alliance in Thailand.