NAKHON PHANOM: A navy patrol seized 200kg of compressed marijuana worth about 4 million baht on the bank of the Mekong River in Ban Phaeng district overnight, but the smugglers fled in their long-tail boat.
The smugglers were on the riverbank with the marijuana when the patrol arrived, at Ban Nakasem village in Ban Phaeng district, late on Wednesday night.
They immediately ran back to their boat and escaped, leaving the five sacks behind, Rr Adm Pisit Thongdeelert, head of the Mekong Riverine Unit, told a news conference at MRU headquarters on Thursday.
The sacks contained 200 bars of compressed marijuana, each weighing one kilogram.
Authorities said the marijuana was grade A quality and worth about 20,000 baht a kilo on the blackmarket.
Over the past two months more than 3 tonnes of marijuana with a street value of at least 60 million baht have been seized in Nakhon Phanom, Rr Adm Pisit said.
Grade A compressed marijuana, seized on the Mekong riverbank on Wednesday night. (Photo by Pattanapong Sripiachai)