According to the head of Thai Customs at the Phuket International Airport, Sukanya Wettayanukun, a 27 year old Thai woman was arrested at the airport on April 5, after customs officers found a bag of cocaine weighing a reported 2.35 kilograms in her luggage.
The drugs have a street value of over 10 million baht.
The arrest followed a tip-off from a concerned citizen who reported that illegal drugs would be smuggled into Thailand through a specific airline. Customs officers then targeted the woman’s luggage, which led to the discovery of the cocaine.
The woman was taken into custody at Sakoo Police Station for legal action. However, her full name was withheld from the media, and it was not immediately clear what her plea was. The officers also did not reveal the country that the woman had been traveling from to enter Thailand, but they confirmed that she was a Thai national.
This is not the first time that cocaine has been found at Phuket International Airport. In January, a woman from Uzbekistan was found with over 2 kilograms of cocaine, and in June 2022, a young man from South Africa was found with 1.49 kilograms of cocaine in his abdomen.
The incidents of drug smuggling at Phuket International Airport underscore the ongoing battle against drug trafficking in the region, and the importance of vigilant border controls to prevent illegal drugs from entering the country.
