560 kilograms of cannabis packaged for delivery seized by officers in Northeast

Officers in the Mekong Riverine Unit seized 560 kilograms of dried cannabis and arrested four people in the Isaan province Nakhon Phanom, bordering Laos. Some of the marijuana had been packaged and was ready to be sent out by a delivery service while other 404 kilograms of marijuana was found along the Mekong riverbank.

A team from the unit searched a home in the Kok Tong community of the Northeastern province’s Mueang district and found 140 packages of dried marijuana, each weighing about a kilogram, ready to be sent out for delivery, according to the unit’s commander. Officers also found around 100 grams of crystal methamphetamine. Four men between the ages of 17 and 24 were arrested.

The officers also seized a Mitsubishi Triton pickup and a 9mm Beretta semi-automatic pistol with 35 rounds of ammunition.

Following the drug seizure at the home, the Mekong Riverine Unit then searched a delivery company in the district and found 20 boxes of cannabis weighing a total of 20 kilograms.

Another team from the Mekong Riverine Unit recently seized 404 slabs of dried cannabis, each weighing about a kilogram. The marijuana was found on the riverbank in the province’s Tha Uthen district. Officers suspect the cannabis was smuggled from Laos across the river and left on the bank to be picked up by traffickers in Thailand. No arrests have been made on that case.

With patrol tightened over the past year along the Myanmar border, there has been an uptick in drug seizures in the Isaan region bordering Laos and crime groups are said to have changed their routes due to the border enforcement. Over the past month, more than two tonnes of dried marijuana have been seized, according to the unit’s commander.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post