Regional News
Thai Navy’s Mekong Patrol Seizes 840 Kilograms of Compressed Marijuana
Officials show the 840 one-kilogramme bricks of compressed marijuana at the Mekong Riverine Unit in Nakhon Phanom – Photo Pattanapong Seepiachai
NAKHON PHANOM – The Thai Navy’s Mekong Patrol Operation Command seized 840 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana worth nearly 17 million baht seized late Wednesday night.
Capt Natthakiart Monkhunthod, in charge of patrols, said officers on one of the Navy’s vessels spotted the marijuana being unloaded in sacks from a motorboat that arrived at the bank of the Song Khram River where it joins the Mekong River late on Wednesday night.
Its skipper, identified as Thaotone Aksornwonge, was arrested after a search uncovered 840 blocks of marijuana onboard, each weighing a kilogram.
Capt Natthakiart said marijuana smuggling was increasing in the northeastern province this year. Nakhon Phanom officials seized almost two tonnes in the past month. Last year they seized about three tonnes in total.
