Border police find 160 kilograms of marijuana hidden in fertiliser sacks

Border police found 160 kilograms of compressed marijuana near an Isaan roadside. Police say they believe the marijuana was trafficked across the Mekong River. No suspects were found and no arrests were made, at this stage.

Police suspect the marijuana was smuggled in on long tail boats from Laos to the Isaan province of Nakhon Phanom during the tropical storm Noul over the weekend. A Border Patrol Police commander, Apisit Rodnoy, says the marijuana was gradually brought across the Mekong River and onto the riverbank in the border district Tha Uthen.

Police say they found 4 fertiliser sacks near a road. The sacks had 200 packages of marijuana adding up to 160 kilograms. Police say it was ready to be picked up by traffickers.

Over the past month, more than a tonne of marijuana has been seized in the province. Police say the compressed marijuana is sold for 3,000 to 5,000 baht per kilogram along the border, but the cost goes up in inner provinces to around 15,000 to 20,000 baht per kilogram.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post