Four Britons and a man from Malaysia were arrested at Samui International Airport after being found with 144 kilograms of cannabis buds intended for the United Kingdom, Airport authorities said on Thursday.
The five individuals were preparing to board a 6 p.m. flight from the popular Thai resort island to Singapore on Wednesday when police intercepted them for a bag search, according to Pol Col Denduang Thongsrisook, chief of the Bo Phut police station.
Two British nationals, Mark Siemaszkiewicz and Richard McMahon, both aged 46, were carrying four suitcases packed with 85.3 kilograms of cannabis buds. Their compatriots, Peace Adefila, 27, and Esther Fakuade, 26, had two suitcases containing 35.8 kilograms of cannabis.
The group reportedly planned to travel onward from Singapore to the United Kingdom. They told police that Thai men had asked them to transport the suitcases to the UK in exchange for either settling debts or receiving £2,000 (approximately 87,000 baht), said Pol Co
The seized cannabis is estimated to have a street value of at least 15 million baht in the UK.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian suspect, identified as Tan Chin Tick, 47, was found with a bag containing 22.8 kilograms of cannabis buds. He admitted to being paid 6,000 ringgit (around 45,000 baht) to smuggle the bag to Singapore, which was his final destination.
Pol Col Denduang added that police are expanding their investigation to uncover the orchestrator behind the smuggling operation.
In Singapore, cannabis is strictly illegal. Possessing or using it can lead to fines of up to $20,000, caning, and up to 10 years in prison. Trafficking or importing more than 500 grams carries the death penalty.
In April 2024, Singapore executed a 46-year-old Tamil man for trafficking more than one kilogram of cannabis, despite international appeals for clemency. Tangaraju Suppiah had been convicted in 2017 for his role in a conspiracy to traffic 1,017.9 grams of cannabis, more than double the threshold for the death penalty. He was sentenced to death in 2018, with the Court of Appeal later upholding this decision.
Tangaraju’s family had petitioned Singapore’s president for clemency and a retrial. The European Union and its member states had also called for a non-capital sentence.
Singapore resumed executions in March 2022 after a pause of over two years. Tangaraju’s execution marked the country’s first in six months. In 2023, 11 executions were carried out, all related to drug offences.
