CHUMPHON — Two men and a woman were arrested Tuesday for allegedly transporting marijuana worth an estimated 5 million baht.
Kanchit Mongkolsupa, 27, Ampon Helkhuntod, 25, and Ratdawan Puangchan, 29, were speeding in a Bangkok-registered pickup truck carrying 290 kilogrammes of compresses cannabis when they were pulled over at a checkpoint on Petchkasem Road in tambon Khao CHairat in Pathiu district, said Chumphon provincial police chief Wisit Sukornsep.
Police searched the pickup and found the 290 bars of ganja hidden in secret compartments under the back seat and in the back of the vehicle.
Pol Maj Gen Wisit said the three were hired by a man known only as Muad for 40,000 baht each to deliver the drugs from the northeastern province of Mukdahan to an unknown location in the South. They claimed someone they believed to be a client would tell them the delivery point by telephone, but they were caught first.
Pol Maj Gen Wisit said police would consult with northeastern colleagues to investigate who hired the group. He added the seized marijuana had an estimated street value of five million baht, but the price could double if it were smuggled out of Thailand and sold in neighbouring countries.