Cannabis crooks caught on camera: Foreigners caught stealing from Phuket pharmacy
CCTV footage captured two foreigners stealing cannabis from a pharmacy in Phuket. Fortunately, a member of staff caught them red-handed on the job.
The Facebook page, Phuket Info Center, posted two videos of the incident yesterday, May 4, with a caption that said…
“Warning! Foreigners stole cannabis from a shop on Rat U Thit 200 Years Road in the Patong neighbourhood near Patong Otop Shopping Paradise. One of them grabbed some cannabis and put it in his bag. He was caught after grabbing another packet of weed and accidentally dropped it.”
In the video, the foreign man in a black shirt wearing sunglasses is seen distracting the seller by talking with her at the shop counter while the other foreigner, also wearing shades, in a white shirt grabs two packets of cannabis and puts them into his shoulder bag. He even looked into the security camera while doing so.
Another video showed the same man pretending to be interested in another cannabis product. After he saw that the seller turned her back on him he immediately put the cannabis into his pocket. However, the product fell to the floor.
The seller realised what had happened and she rushed toward the man, grabbed the products back, and searched his bag.
According to Channel 3 news, the foreign thief gave up all the stolen cannabis to the shop and the two did not face any charges. Many Thai netizens urged the shop owner to file a complaint to make an example of them to warn others.
Cannabis has become more accessible after Thailand took it off the narcotics list and allowed people to use it for medical purposes. The government also planned to promote medical cannabis tourism to draw more foreign tourists.
However, cannabis legalisation has sparked concerns from authorities in several countries like Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, China, and Singapore. They warned their citizens to be aware of the risk and consequences of using cannabis while travelling in Thailand.
The tourism sector in Thailand is also confused about cannabis use. Several hotels reported that some guests use cannabis inside their hotel rooms and admit they are unclear whether it is prohibited or not.
