A two-month-old tiger cub was found sedated and hidden among stuffed toys inside a woman's luggage at the Bangkok airport, wildlife officials said.
Wildlife trade monitoring network Traffic said the Thai woman was trying to board a flight to Iran but had difficulty with a large bag at check-in. X-rays aroused suspicion among airport staff who said they saw an image resembling a real animal. Wildlife officers were called in, who discovered the tranquilised cub, the BBC reported on Thursday.
The tiger cub is now being cared for at a rescue centre of the department of national parks, wildlife and plant conservation.
Chris Shepherd, South-East Asia deputy regional director for Traffic, said: "We applaud all the agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt."
"If people are trying to smuggle live tigers in their check-in luggage, they obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with and do not fear reprimand."