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They said they had tracked down the animal in the Cambodian
capital's Boeung Keng Kang district after videos of it went
viral on TikTok.
The officers found the male lion padding placidly around a
hallway with a collar around its neck on Sunday. One blew a
tranquiliser dart into its side before the team moved in and
carried the slumped 70 kg (154 lbs) animal into a metal crate.
The lion was then taken to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue
Centre in the outskirts of the capital, officials said.
"It was rare species that was smuggled from abroad,” environment
ministry spokesperson Neth Pheaktra said.
"According to the law, people don’t have the right to raise
wildlife at home, especially rare species."
The Wildlife Alliance NGO said it helped during the raid that
was a joint operation led by the Forestry Administration, with
the Deputy Prosecutor of the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the
police and the military police.
(Reporting by Prak Chan Thul and Chantha Lach; Editing by Andrew
Heavens)
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