KHON KAEN: Almost 500kg of compressed marijuana worth about 7 million baht was seized and two men arrested when police stopped a truck in Nam Phong district in the early hours of Thursday.
Highway police signaled a covered truck with Chon Buri licence plates to pull over for a search at a checkpoint on Mittraparb Road around 1.30am following a tip off.
The two men in the vehicle appeared nervous and a search found 13 large plastic boxes in the back containing 494 slabs of compressed marijuana, each weighing one kilogramme, said Pol Col Apichart Phochan, chief of highway police sub-division 4.
He said it was worth 10,000-15,000 baht a killo and the seized drugs had a street value of over 7 million baht.
The two men, identified later as Chanachai Sareethip, 41, of Sakon Nakhon and Wassana Phukhamkong, 29, of Kalasin, allegedly confessed they were hired to deliver the marijuana from an unidentified dealer to a client in Chon Buri.
If successfully delivered they would be paid 4,000 baht. They admitted it was their third drug run, according to police.
Police were not convinced by their story and the investigation was being extended, said Pol Col Apichart.
The suspects were charged with colluding in the possession of a category 5 drug with intent to sell. They were held in custody at Nam Phong police station for legal action.
The two suspects are confronted with the evidence, plastic boxes containing 494 1kg slabs of compressed marijuana, in the back of their vehicle after being caught by highway police at a checkpoint in Khon Kaen in the early hours of Thursday. (Photo by Jakkrapan Nathanri)