Navy Patrol Finds 10Kg of Marijuana Abandoned on Mekong River Bank
The Thai Navy Mekong Riverine Unit has recovered 20 million baht (US$600,00) worth of Marijuana and Methamphetamines abandoned on the bank of the Mekong River.
More than 200,000 meth pills and 10 kilograms of marijuana were discovered in the Tha Uthen district of Nakhon Phanom in northeastern Thailand late Friday night.
Authorities believe the drugs were brought by smugglers using a longtailed boat from Laos and left on the river bank for their accomplices to pick up.
In Nakhon Phanom, more than one million methamphetamine pills were seized last month.
In recent years, smuggling routes from Myanmar through Laos and across the Mekong into northeastern Thailand have grown steadily more active.
In the past, most shipments were sent directly to Thailand from Myanmar through Chiang Rai Province.
As a result of the daily influx of illicit drugs coming into Nakhon Phanom, the Navy and police have increased their patrols.
200kg of Marijuana Seized
In January, the Thai Navy Mekong Riverine Unit apprehended a man from Laos in That Phanom district of Nakhon Phanom and seized 200 kilograms of compressed marijuana.
The navy patrol caught the man while he was guarding 200 slabs of compressed marijuana, each weighing one kilogram, on the river bank at Don Nang Hong village in That Phanom district.
During a media briefing, Nakhon Phanom governor Chathip Juranaseree, senior navy officers, and border patrol police announced the arrest and the seizure.
In the Northeast, marijuana smuggling is rampant, especially in Nakhon Phanom where seizures are frequent, according to Rear Admiral Somat Juthanom.
Even though cannabis has been taken off the narcotics list, smuggling was still illegal since it did not pass customs procedures. To combat smuggling, navy patrols are being stepped up to prevent incursions, he said.
