Driver Uncovers Ice, Cannabis Stash in Fruit Boxes Bust

Picture courtesy of ThaiRath.

A quick-thinking delivery driver helped police uncover a drug trafficking operation after discovering that fruit boxes he was hired to transport were packed with crystal methamphetamine and compressed cannabis worth more than 81 million baht.

At a press conference on 18 August, Police Lieutenant General Naiwat Phadermchit, Region 7 Commissioner, joined by provincial officials and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board, announced the arrests of two suspects: Mr Thongphon Anurakpanawan, 31, of Nan province and Ms Phanida Nokdee, 23, of Si Sa Ket province. Officers seized 210 kilograms of crystal meth (ice) and 390 kilograms of compressed cannabis.

The arrests followed a tip-off from a private logistics worker, who had been contracted via a delivery app to collect what he was told were 100 boxes of dried mangosteen. When he arrived at a pool villa in Amphawa district on 17 August, he instead found 21 boxes labelled as rambutans. Suspicious that the order did not match the description and noticing the boxes were unusually heavy and damp, he checked the contents and discovered plastic-wrapped packages inside.

The driver, after consulting his father, reported the matter to Amphawa police. Investigators later confirmed the cargo contained methamphetamine and cannabis, stored under the guise of fresh fruit.

By the time police arrived at the villa, the renters had fled. Arrest warrants were issued by Samut Songkhram Provincial Court, and both suspects were tracked down to a rented room in Bangkok’s Khlong Tan Nuea area at around 01:00 the following day.

According to Mr Krailert Daoruang, regional director of the Narcotics Control Board, the drugs are believed to have been smuggled in from Laos through northern and northeastern Thailand before being stored in Samut Songkhram. The gang allegedly planned to ship the haul south for onward transport to a neighbouring country.

Both suspects confessed to using the app-based delivery service to move the drugs south for a fee of 10,000 baht. They face charges of possession with intent to distribute Class 1 narcotics (methamphetamine) and Class 5 narcotics (cannabis) for commercial purposes.

Police confirmed investigations are continuing to identify other members of the trafficking network, trace financial transactions and seize assets linked to the syndicate.

  Adapted by Asean Now from ThaiRath 2025-08-19