11 tonnes of smuggled avocados seized in Thailand’s Pathum Thani market
Seized shipment raises fears over food safety and agricultural smuggling networks
Approximately 11 tonnes of avocados from Vietnam, mislabelled as mangoes, were illicitly brought into Thailand and sold at a prominent wholesale market in Pathum Thani province.
Yesterday, May 25, consumer protection police, along with customs and agriculture officials, conducted a raid at Talad Thai fresh market located on Phahon Yothin Road in Khlong Luang district.
A total of 421 boxes of avocados, weighing around 11 tonnes and valued at 1.2 million baht (US$36,890), were confiscated, according to Police Lieutenant General Jiraphop Phuridet, commander of the Central Investigation Bureau. This operation followed a tip-off, with police noting that the fruits were transported in pickup trucks fitted with cages rather than trailer trucks to bypass checkpoints.
Police revealed that the avocados were smuggled from Vietnam, with some boxes deceptively labelled as mango in Chinese. The box labels were also painted over, suggesting an effort by the smugglers to obscure the product’s details and evade customs inspections, reported Bangkok Post.
No information regarding the sellers or smugglers has been disclosed. The Office of Agriculture Regulation is currently holding the seized avocados, and the investigation remains ongoing.
In similar news, in Pathum Thani, a Vietnamese businessman named Van was arrested for smuggling around 16 tonnes of fresh avocados into Thailand, raising concerns about risks to local farming.
The arrest took place yesterday, May 14, at a warehouse on Soi Thep Kunchon 6 near a major agricultural wholesale market in Khlong Luang district.
The Consumer Protection Police (CPP) worked alongside a special task force from the Agriculture and Cooperatives Ministry and the Customs Department. This operation followed intelligence gathered after police seized approximately 40 tonnes of smuggled avocados the week before.
During the warehouse inspection, officers arrested Van, who admitted ownership of the produce. Police confiscated 16,175 kilograms of fresh avocados valued at about 1,294,000 baht (US$38,715), along with 750 kilograms of fresh passion fruit worth approximately 45,000 baht (US$1,345).
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