<p>Two Indian women have been arrested at a Thai airport attempting to smuggle more than 100 live animals including armadillos, porcupines and snakes, wildlife protection officers said Tuesday.</p>.<p>Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, with the animals often bound for Vietnam or China where they are used in traditional medicines.</p>.<p>The creatures were discovered when Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana, 24, passed through X-ray machines at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Sunday night en route to Chennai in India, officials said.</p>.<p>"This kind of case has happened many times because the animals have expensive price tags in India," Sathon Konggoen, chief of the airport's wildlife inspection office, told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>He estimated that the animals, believed to have been bred in Thailand, would be worth around 200,000 baht ($5,600).</p>.<p>"Animal trafficking is usually detected at the Thai-Myanmar borders and domestic airports to a certain extent," he added.</p>.<p>Officers discovered two armadillos, two porcupines, 20 snakes, 35 turtles and 50 chameleons stuffed into a pair of bags belonging to the women.</p>.<p>Two dead iguanas were also found, while all of the reptiles were suffering from dehydration, according to a Facebook post from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.</p>.<p>The creatures are being treated and will be moved to an animal centre or breeding facility, the department said.</p>.<p>The two women have been charged with violations of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act, the Animal Epidemics Act and the Customs Act.</p>.<p>They are being detained at a police station at the airport.</p>
<p>Two Indian women have been arrested at a Thai airport attempting to smuggle more than 100 live animals including armadillos, porcupines and snakes, wildlife protection officers said Tuesday.</p>.<p>Thailand is a major transit hub for wildlife smugglers, with the animals often bound for Vietnam or China where they are used in traditional medicines.</p>.<p>The creatures were discovered when Nithya Raja, 38, and Zakia Sulthana, 24, passed through X-ray machines at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport on Sunday night en route to Chennai in India, officials said.</p>.<p>"This kind of case has happened many times because the animals have expensive price tags in India," Sathon Konggoen, chief of the airport's wildlife inspection office, told <em>AFP</em>.</p>.<p>He estimated that the animals, believed to have been bred in Thailand, would be worth around 200,000 baht ($5,600).</p>.<p>"Animal trafficking is usually detected at the Thai-Myanmar borders and domestic airports to a certain extent," he added.</p>.<p>Officers discovered two armadillos, two porcupines, 20 snakes, 35 turtles and 50 chameleons stuffed into a pair of bags belonging to the women.</p>.<p>Two dead iguanas were also found, while all of the reptiles were suffering from dehydration, according to a Facebook post from the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation.</p>.<p>The creatures are being treated and will be moved to an animal centre or breeding facility, the department said.</p>.<p>The two women have been charged with violations of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act, the Animal Epidemics Act and the Customs Act.</p>.<p>They are being detained at a police station at the airport.</p>