British and Dutch men arrested in Bangkok for drug trafficking

Officers from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) arrested a British man and a Dutch man at a condominium in Bangkok yesterday for drug trafficking. They were found in possession of 210 grammes of ecstasy and over 37 grammes of cannabis.

The ONCB officers held a press conference today, November 6, to provide details on the arrests of the British and Dutch men, whose identities were not revealed. The arrests followed the discovery of a suspicious parcel delivered to Thailand from the UK on Monday, November 4.

Upon investigating the parcel, officials found 210 grammes of MDMA (commonly known as ecstasy) inside. Officers then monitored the recipients until they observed the two foreign nationals collecting it.

The two men resided at a condominium in the Sathu Pradit area of Bangkok, where officials conducted a raid on their condo unit on November 5. While no drugs were found in the condo, the suspects admitted to keeping them at a rented house in the Khlong Toei area and another condo in Phra Kanong.

During a search of the rented house, officers seized 30 kilogrammes of cannabis, packed in vacuum-sealed bags ready for delivery. They also found documents indicating the suspects intended to send the cannabis to the UK, falsely labelling it as pillows.

Approximately 1.4 kilogrammes of cannabis glandular trichomes were discovered at the property. Cannabis glandular trichomes contain cannabinoids primarily found in cannabis flowers and leaves and are highly valued for their psychoactive and medicinal properties.

Further searches at the condominium in Phra Kanong revealed an additional 6 kilogrammes of cannabis, also packed in vacuum-sealed bags.

ONCB officials reported that British police have seized large amounts of cannabis smuggled from Thailand this year, prompting closer collaboration between Thai and British officials to prevent such trafficking.

These trafficking groups reportedly enter Thailand as tourists and obtain cannabis from local dealers to smuggle back to their home countries. In some cases, they carry the cannabis with them while travelling; in others, they ship it internationally via parcels.