A group of ‘high-ranking’ demons, accused of disrupting duty-free shopping, are to be moved on at Suvarnabhumi Aiport at a cost of 1 million baht (about $30,000).

The 12 six-metre-tall demons are now being shifted at dead of night from the inner zone of the airport to the check-in counter.

The airport authorities had intended to put the figures at the terminal gates but a Brahmin priest warned them not to risk it with such ‘highly ranked demons’, according to the Bangkok Post.

The yaksa statue are based on models at the Grand Palace and are worth a total of 30 million bah ($900,000). But workers at the terminal’s shops claimed they had brought bad luck, including the protest by ‘yellow-shirt’ political activists that shut Suvarnabhumi last year.

A religious ceremony has been held to ensure a successful move and the demons are currently being relocated between 1am and 5am, to avoid affecting passengers.

Read the story in the Bangkok Post