Sweet smell of success – customs officers celebrate durian/heroin bust
Customs officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport snatched over 7 kilograms of heroin they say was bound for Taiwan.
Thai customs have been working closely with international logistics agencies to lessen the flow of drugs through the country, greatly increasing with the massive increment in cross-border e-commerce and the billions of parcels now in transit from warehouses worldwide.
The big bust came on Wednesday when officials smelled something fishy around four cases of dried durian originating from Cambodia along with a water heater. The strange combination of goods was heading for an address in Taiwan.
Patchara Anuntasilpa, director-general of the Customs Department, said on Saturday that packages were found to be concealing 10 bricks of heroin weighing a total of 3.7 kilograms. Another 3.5 kilograms of heroin were found in the boxes of dried durian. The 7.2 kilograms of the drug seized are estimated to be worth 21.6 million baht (US$560,000).
The shipment is being held by police at Suvarnabhumi airport who are working with the Airport Interdiction Task Force, comprising agents from the Customs Department, the Narcotics Control Board, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau and the Armed Forces Security Centre. The postal and express consignments programme was initiated to monitor narcotics smuggling through customs channels.
Thai authorities intend to coordinate with counterparts in Cambodia and the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau of Taiwan.
The postal and express consignments programme was initiated to monitor narcotics smuggling through customs channels.
