Navy patrol seizes 580 kg of smuggled cannabis in Nakhon Phanom
A Thai Navy riverine patrol seized 580 kg of dried cannabis from an abandoned pickup in Ban Phaeng district, Nakhon Phanom, on 27 February 2023. The driver fled; the unit said the cannabis was smuggled across the Mekong from Laos and bound for foreign markets.
A Mekong Riverine Unit navy patrol seized580 kg of dried cannabis in Ban Phaeng district of Nakhon Phanom on Monday 27 February 2023.[1]The seizure followed a tip-off: a patrol chased a black Chevrolet pickup, whose driver abandoned it near Noen Khanung village in tambon Ban Phaeng and fled.[1]
The pickup carried a bag with 400 bricks of compressed dried cannabis with flowers and buds, about 1 kg each, plus another bag holding 180 kg.[1]The unit commander, Capt Kasidi Klinseesuk, said the cannabis was believed smuggled across the Mekong river from Laos and bound for foreign markets.[1]
He said cannabis was no longer listed as an illegal narcotic but a permit was required to possess its flowers and buds for medical dispensing.[1]Smuggling cannabis into the country violated the Customs Act and the Plant Quarantine Act, he said.[1]
Photos and video
Navy officers display the seized cannabis bricks and the pickup at their Nakhon Phanom headquarters. Photo: Pattanapong Sripiachai.Photo details
Police and health officials seized 90 unlabelled cannabis-infused jellies from a shop in Soi Rong Mueang 5, Bangkok, after a Chanthaburi family fell ill after eating similar sweets. The 26-year-old employee faced controlled-herb and food-labelling allegations, while the products were sent for testing.
Thai Customs seized about 523 grams of cannabis extract concealed in a book in a parcel bound for Brazil on 30 October 2026. The haul, valued at 784,500 baht, was treated as attempted unlicensed export of a Category 5 narcotic.
Thai Customs arrested 40 people, most of them foreign nationals, and seized 577 kg of cannabis flowers worth about 5.8 million baht at Suvarnabhumi Airport between 1 and 24 October 2026. The crackdown on outbound cannabis smuggling follows government orders for tighter checks with Airports of Thailand.
Bangkok police arrested Maldivians Ali Rashid, 46, and Mohamed Wisam, 34, around 6 October 2026 after tracing smelly parcels refused by a Pratunam cargo office to a Ratchathewi dormitory, finding 2.37 kg of crystal meth in tumblers and about 10 kg of cannabis in children's clothing; both denied knowledge and face joint possession charges.
