The capture of the bronze Buddha images came after customs officials received a tip-off that smugglers were hiding the images in the border area around Baan Huay Phueng.

A survey by customs and local military officials soon revealed the images concealed in a fertilizer sack in a location around 10 metres into Thai territory.

Chief provincial customs officer Bancha Kaeowdaeng said that the images would be held in the Mae Hong Son customs office, and that the search would begin for the smugglers.

The images are said to have been stolen from a Myanmar town, and to have been destined for export to a third country.

The Mae Hong Son customs office will liaise with the Department of Fine Arts to have the images returned to Myanmar under an Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agreement.