On 7 July, 21-year-old Belgian tourist Salma E.K. went to Phuket airport to board a flight to Paris.[1][2] She was arrested at Phuket airport during a check as she returned from holiday.[1] Customs officers checked her two suitcases after flagging them as suspicious.[1][2] She admitted that both suitcases and everything inside them belonged to her.[1][2] Officers handcuffed her and handed her to Sakhu police with the seizure.[1][2]

Officers at the international departures terminal identified one green-and-white suitcase and one black suitcase during baggage screening.[3] A search found 12 vacuum-sealed packages with 28.3 kilograms of cannabis flower and eight packages of processed cannabis weighing 3.4 kilograms, about 31.7 kilograms in total.[3] The Phuket News identifies the woman as 21-year-old Belgian national Salma El Khnati.[4]

She was charged with attempting to export goods without customs clearance under the Customs Act 2017 and with offences under Thailand’s narcotics, traditional-medicine and controlled-herb cannabis laws.[3] She faces up to 10 years in prison for attempted drug trafficking and a possible fine of up to four times the value of the seized goods.[1][2] Sakhu police said the arrest came from coordinated customs and security screening to block cannabis exports and warned that smuggling would be strictly prosecuted.[3]