CHIANG RAI – Mae Fah Luang International Airport staff and customs officers inspected the luggage of a South Korean man and woman and found 46 kilograms of dried cannabis hidden in bags left in the passenger terminal.
The drugs were due to be flown to Suvarnabhumi Airport, then on to London in the United Kingdom. The pair denied all charges and claimed that another South Korean national had asked them to carry the bags.
On Sunday, officers from the Mae Sai Customs Control and Inspection Division, working with the Regional Customs Office at Mae Fah Luang International Airport in Ban Du subdistrict, Mueang Chiang Rai district, together with police from Ban Du Police Station, arrested Mr Kang Yuwon and Ms Park Nahyun, both South Korean nationals.
They were charged with attempting to export goods without going through customs procedures, in breach of the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017), and the Act on Protection and Promotion of Thai Traditional Medicine B.E. 2563 (2020), which refers back to legislation from B.E. 2542 (1999), as well as the Ministry of Public Health’s announcement on controlled herbs (cannabis) B.E. 2568 (2025).
The incident began in the evening of 13 December, when officers at Mae Fah Luang International Airport spotted something suspicious in a passenger’s suitcase as it passed through the X-ray machine.
Airport staff then called in the two South Korean travellers linked with the luggage for questioning. When the suitcase was opened in front of them, officers found 81 vacuum-sealed bags filled with dried cannabis, weighing about 46 kilograms in total.
During questioning, the couple said they were travelling by air from Chiang Rai to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Samut Prakan on an evening flight, and planned to continue to London, England.
They denied owning the suitcase or the cannabis and claimed that another South Korean man had asked them to take the bags on board before departure. Officers then took both suspects, along with the seized cannabis and luggage, to Ban Du Police Station for legal proceedings.
