The arrests came after a tourist alerted police, who contacted the Livestock Department who in turn passed the word to Awat Nikikul Chief of the Provincial Environmental Conservation Department.
The two men, Nachapon Kensing, 20, and Sudjai Jarernphu, 30, were charging tourists B100 a time for photos of themselves with the three baby lorises, and were not difficult for officials to find and catch.
“The three baby lorises will be taken to the Wildlife Breeding Center in Phang Nga province and the two men will be prosecuted,” Mr Awat told The Phuket News. They are likely to face fines of no more than B20,000 each.
Javan Lorises are slow-moving jungle animals that move around only at night, eating fruit or insects. Because of the exotic pet trade, their numbers have declined rapidly in recent years and they are now listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as an endangered species.
Many wild animals and birds, including sea eagles, monitor lizards, iguanas, crocodiles, snakes, and gibbons are touted for photographs in Patong.
Some of these species, too, are listed as endangered but the touts are rarely caught, or even bothered by the authorities.
The Phuket News returned to Bangla Road on Thursday night (12 July) and saw two touts with two more baby Loris.