Man arrested in Isaan for allegedly smuggling 550 kilograms of cannabis

Around 550 kilograms of compressed cannabis was seized from a pickup truck in the Isaan province Sakhon Nakhon, which is close to the Laos border. Officers from the Crime Suppression Division confiscated the cannabis and arrested a 34 year old man.

Officer had received a top that a crime syndicate planned to traffic the cannabis from Laos and into Thailand. They say traffickers were using the Seka-Akat Manuai route in Bueng Kan, a province along the Mekong River bordering Laos.

Police were stationed along the road and stopped the vehicle after the driver allegedly stopped in Udon Thani to deliver the cannabis. Officer searched the truck and say they found 550 slabs of compressed cannabis. Each slab weighed a kilogram. Police say the man admitted he was paid 10,000 baht to transport the drugs. The person who hired him was reportedly driving another vehicle on the same route and was able to evade the police.

The suspect was charged with possession of a Category 5 narcotic with the intent to sell. Cannabis with high traces of the psychoactive component known as THC is still legal in Thailand and classified as a Category 5 narcotic.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post