Overview

• On August 10, security screening at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport led to Sheehan’s arrest when officers discovered three ball pythons concealed in a mesh bag inside his underwear.
• The seized pythons (Python regius) are listed under CITES and transporting them without permits breaches Thai conservation and customs regulations.
• Thailand’s Department of National Parks, Royal Thai Police and the Wildlife Enforcement Network coordinated the operation after surveillance triggered by reports of missing pythons from a protected area.
• Sheehan, who was previously detained in Colombo in 2024 on similar wildlife-trafficking charges, remains in formal custody as investigators seek any international collaborators.
• Following the seizure, global conservation associations issued alerts across Asia and pursued legal measures while Thai authorities expand their probe into the trafficking network.