The arrests took place at about 8:30 a.m. on 27 July 2026 in the international departures terminal at Phuket airport.[1] Customs officers arrested four foreign nationals preparing to leave Thailand after finding cannabis flowers and processed cannabis in their luggage.[1] Two of those held were young men from Vaud aged 18 and 19, arrested at Phuket with 16 kilos of cannabis in their suitcases.[2] Recruiters offered young French and Swiss free travel to Thailand with flights, accommodation and pocket money covered.[3] The recruiters promised 600 francs in pocket money and 8,000 francs to bring back a suitcase supposedly filled with iPhones.[3]
Officials put the combined seizure at more than 33.6 kg of cannabis products.[1] All four were charged with attempting to take goods out of Thailand without customs procedures and handed to investigators at Sakhu Police Station.[1] One Vaudois first paid a 6,300-franc fine to customs and was able to leave Thailand quickly.[2] In total he had to spend about 18,000 francs to leave the country without difficulty and without a criminal record.[2] The second Vaudois stayed detained in Thailand awaiting trial after his mother could not raise about 4,000 francs requested for his release in time.[2]
Thai authorities considerably reinforced controls on cannabis exports from 18 June 2026.[3] A 30,000-baht fine per kilogram seized applies, and non-payment can lead to custody and detention awaiting judgment.[3] France’s foreign ministry warns that penalties run from two to ten years’ imprisonment.[3] Thailand had decriminalised cannabis in 2022 but its export stayed prohibited.[3] The case was part of a wider summer pattern in which eleven French nationals were arrested in Thai airports with several kilos of cannabis.[3]
