Maldivian tourist arrested for trying to smuggle 25 rare birds out of Thailand

Upon checking the tourist's luggage, officials discovered the birds worth some 100,000 baht ($2,941) packed inside, The National Thailand reported.

"The birds found inside the luggage included black hawks, buffy fish owls and barred eagle-owls," said an official, adding that all are protected species under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

The tourist is under investigation and will be charged under the Wildlife Conservation and Protection Act as well as the Animal Epidemics Act and Customs Act.

In Thailand, trafficking endangered and rare species is a crime punishable by up to 10 years imprisonment.