Crime
Tourists Busted with 15.5Kg of Cocaine in Their Luggage
Three Brazilian tourists have been arrested on arrival at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International airport and 15.5 kilograms of cocaine, worth about US$1.4 million, was seized from inside their luggage.
The tourists, one woman and two men arrived from Brazil on two flights on Monday.
On Tuesday, the Customs Department director-general Patchara Anutasilpa, Suvarnabhumi airport director Kittipong Kittikachorn, and drug suppression officials announced the drug seizure and the arrest of the tourists.
A man, 27, and a woman, 22, arrived from Coribita in Brazil on Qatar Airways flight QR830 at about 7 a.m. on Feb 14. Their bags were then inspected by customs officers.
As a result of an X-ray, suspicious items were found within the compartments of their three bags. Upon closer inspection, nine kilograms of cocaine were found within the hidden compartments. The cocaine was wrapped in black plastic and was estimated to have a street value of approximately US$834,000.
Later on Monday, a 24-year-old Brazilian tourist was arrested following the discovery of 6.5 kilograms of cocaine hidden in two bags. The drugs were worth approximately US$605,000. The suspect had flown from Brazil on flight QR836, arriving around 1 p.m.
Tourists detained pending further legal action
In November 2021, a 26-year-old Thai woman was arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport for smuggling 4 kilograms of cocaine from Dubai.
According to Customs Director-General Patchara Anuntasilpa, the woman found the drugs in her bag on the second level of the passenger terminal.
In his confession, the Bangkok resident admitted hiring individuals from Dubai to smuggle drugs into Thailand for 100,000 baht. According to the department chief, the smuggling was being carried out by a drug network in South Africa.
Police turned over the woman to the narcotics suppression unit for questioning.
