Drivers held for transporting 1,434 boxes of illegal cigarettes
Massive smuggling haul exposes hidden risks within local delivery networks
Two delivery drivers employed by a parcel company have been apprehended for allegedly transporting 1,434 boxes of illegal cigarettes.
The drivers claimed they were unaware of the contents, as they were simply fulfilling their duties. Police stated that tracking down the perpetrators should not be difficult due to complete sender and recipient documentation.
Yesterday, June 1, Police Colonel Parinya Khraikruan, head of Thong Pha Phum Police Station in Kanchanaburi province, along with Colonel Phansak Phewphanit, commander of the Lad Ya Task Force, and Chakrit Tanpirun, Thong Pha Phum district chief, were informed of a smuggling operation involving illicit cigarettes.
The operation reportedly used covered pickup trucks during nighttime hours. Following this tip-off, a strategic meeting was held, and instructions were given to officers at the Thong Pha Phum checkpoint in Mueang subdistrict to monitor suspicious vehicles closely.
At around 11pm, continuing into the early hours of yesterday, June 1, officers observed two Isuzu D-Max trucks, one white and one grey, both bearing Ayutthaya province licence plates, travelling in tandem from Sangkhla Buri district towards Kanchanaburi. The trucks were signalled to stop for inspection.
The drivers were identified as 28 year old Witthawat from Don Sai subdistrict, Pak Tho district, Ratchaburi province, and 23 year old Phanuphan from Hin Kong subdistrict, Mueang district, Ratchaburi province. Both drivers cooperated fully with the police.
A search of the truck driven by Witthawat revealed 534 boxes of foreign cigarettes, totaling 5,340 sticks, and 10 packs of Burmese cigarettes, each containing six boxes. The truck driven by Phanuphan contained 18 cartons of foreign cigarettes, amounting to 900 boxes or 9,000 sticks. Combined, both trucks transported 1,434 boxes of illegal cigarettes.
Both drivers explained that they were merely parcel delivery employees for a private company. They had collected the parcels from the company’s warehouse in Sangkhla Buri district and were en route to deliver them to a warehouse in Ayutthaya. They claimed ignorance of the parcels’ contents, stating that they were simply performing their duties as delivery drivers.
Following the drivers’ statements, the inspection team informed them that the parcels contained untaxed goods and tobacco not bearing duty stamps. The parcels were seized, and an investigation to identify the offenders and pursue legal action will follow.
Police are confident that finding the people involved will be straightforward, given the complete documentation of both sender and recipient, reported KhaoSod.
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