Authorities at Bangkok's international airport found a sedated tiger cub alongside a stuffed toy tiger in the suitcase of a woman flying from Thailand to Iran.
The woman, a Thai national, had checked in for her flight and her overweight bag was sent for an X-ray which showed what appeared to be a live animal inside, according to Traffic, a wildlife trade monitoring group.
The woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport before boarding her flight on Sunday. The male cub, estimated to be about three months old, had been drugged with anti-depressants.
"The cub arrived at our unit Monday," said Chaiyaporn Chareesaeng, head of the health unit at the wildlife conservation centre in Bangkok where the cub is now under close supervision.
"He appeared exhausted, dehydrated and couldn't walk, so we had to give him oxygen, water and lactation," said Mr Chaiyaporn. "We have monitored him closely. As of today, he looks better and can walk a little now."
A DNA test was expected to provide details about its origin, said Mr Chaiyaporn.
"I was a bit shocked because an animal isn't supposed to be treated like this," said Nirath Nipanant, chief of the airport's wildlife checkpoint. "Had the animal passed the oversize baggage check and gone through four to five hours of travel, its chances of survival would have been slim."
The woman (31) faces up to four years in prison and a 40,000 baht (€1,000) fine for two wildlife smuggling-related charges, police said.
She reportedly denied the luggage with the cub belonged to her and said another passenger had asked her to carry it for them.
The cub could have fetched about 100,000 baht (€2,500) on the black market in Iran.
Wildlife experts say the number of tigers in Asia have plummeted over the years due mainly to habitat loss and poachers who sell their skins and body parts to booming medicinal and souvenir markets, mostly in China.
Wildlife groups have been lobbying governments to increase monitoring and enforce tougher penalties.
"We applaud all the agencies that came together to uncover this brazen smuggling attempt," said Chris Shepherd, deputy regional director for wildlife trade monitors Traffic. "They obviously think wildlife smuggling is something easy to get away with."
Agencies