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Fossil seller Netted
Thai police have seized hundreds of fossilised dinosaur bones and arrested a man for selling the valuable relics through the popular Internet auction Web site e-Bay, officials said on Friday.
Thai police have seized hundreds of fossilised dinosaur bones and arrested a man for selling the valuable relics through the popular Internet auction Web site e-Bay, officials said on Friday.
Police working in conjunction with US customs officials charged 25-year-old Thai businessman Piriya Watchajitpan with hiding and processing antiques for trade.
US customs first got wind of the trade when they intercepted the dinosaur bones coming from Thailand, but officials said Piriya had also been shipping fossils to Britain, Canada, Hong Kong and China.
“We have been investigating this one for about eight months,” Mark Robinson, a US customs and immigration official in Bangkok, said.
The on-line auction of the fossils started at as little as $1,000, even though scientists say they are priceless. Piriya faces seven years in jail if found guilty.
