Customs officers at Laem Chabang Port in Chonburi seized cannabis flower and kratom powder worth nearly 18 million baht from three shipping containers on 15 July. The consignments were destined for Turkey and the Netherlands, while one kratom shipment had arrived from Indonesia without an import permit.
The first container, inspected at 10.30am, held 350kg of cannabis flower concealed in boxes of medical masks. The shipment had been declared as rubber gloves and was due to be sent to Turkey.
The Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) put its domestic value at about 3.5 million baht, saying the price could rise by 20 to 30 times if it reached foreign markets. Customs law provides for fines of 30,000 to 100,000 baht per kilogram, officials said.
Phanu Limwongyut, director of the Laem Chabang Port Customs Office, joined the operation with Chonburi deputy governor Khwanruen Srichan, customs control director Lt Chaiyat Kranlert and Ronakrit Bamrungsuksawat, head of investigation and suppression at the ONCB's Region 2 office. Sriracha public health officials, the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine, district administrators and Laem Chabang police also took part.
Cannabis hidden in bedding rolls
At about 1.30pm, officers examined two further containers at a private port in Thung Sukhla, Sriracha district.
One container had been declared as pillowcases and polyester fibre and was bound for the Netherlands. X-ray screening identified suspicious objects, and officers found cannabis flower in clear plastic bags, wrapped again in black plastic, hidden inside numerous bedding rolls.
Tests using a reagent confirmed the material was cannabis. Each bundle of bedding contained 60 one-kilogram bags, with the container holding 1,160 packages weighing a net 1,160kg. Officials valued the load at about 11.6 million baht.
Pictures courtesy of Amarin
The third container was declared as 1,120 packages of kratom powder, or Mitragyna speciosa, from Indonesia, weighing about 27,000kg and valued at 2.7 million baht.
Officials said the owner had applied for permission to import the kratom, but the goods arrived before customs could issue the permit. The shipment was therefore seized.
The case is a reminder for foreign residents, visitors and businesses that Thailand's cannabis rules do not make cross-border transport straightforward. Taking cannabis overseas, sending it by freight or carrying it across an international border can breach export, import and destination-country rules, even where products may be available within Thailand.
Kratom products may also require the appropriate import documentation. Customs said all three consignments would be handed to investigators at Laem Chabang Police Station for legal proceedings.
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16 July 2026
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