500 kg of marijuana seized on a Mekong bank in That Phanom
A Mekong Riverine Unit patrol seized 500 kg of compressed marijuana left on the Mekong riverbank in That Phanom district on 31 August 2021. The 500 slabs had been brought across the river from Laos, and no suspects were arrested.
A drug-suppression team of the Mekong Riverine Unit found ten sacks on the bank of the Mekong river near Ban Khap Phuang in tambon Nam Kam, That Phanom district, late on Tuesday night 31 August 2021.[1][2]The sacks held 500 slabs of compressed dried marijuana weighing one kilogram each, 500 kg in total.[1][2]
The unit’s Nakhon Phanom commander, Rear Admiral Jaraskiat Chaiyaphan, said the sacks were believed to have been brought across the river by boat from Laos and left on the bank to be collected by a smuggling network.[1][2]Nobody was arrested.[1][2]
Photos and video
The 500 seized slabs of marijuana on display at the Mekong Riverine headquarters in Nakhon PhanomPhoto details
No suspects were arrested, and the smugglers who left the sacks were not identified.
The unit commander said about three tonnes of marijuana had been seized by the unit in the previous month, without giving a breakdown of those earlier seizures.
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.
