HUA HIN — A German man was arrested for allegedly growing more than 200 marijuana plants at his home on Tuesday.
Soldiers and policemen, led by Hua Hin district chief Roojpratheep Thammarapeepat, raided the house of the 46-year-old known by the Thai-German name Zher Kanogkhamsin at Moo 7 of Ban Sai Ngarm in Nong Plub subdistrict in the afternoon.
The raid came after police working undercover bought cannabis from Mr Zher.
Officials searched the 13-rai-property and found a marijuana plantation consisted of 200 small plants less than five centimetres high and another 43 plants about 50-80 cm high being grown separately around the house. The higher ones were cultivated in the same space as vegetables.
The team seized 1.5 kg of compressed marijuana along with some cannabis seeds, cannabis-infused whiskey and paraphernalia.
Postal boxes were also found which led authorities to believe Mr Zher may have delivered cannabis to his customers in other provinces. The team also seized his car and motorcycle to check if they were ill-gotten gains.
Mr Zher, who has lived in Thailand more than 10 years and can speak Thai fluently, allegedly confessed he had grown the plants and other cannabis items belonged to him. But he claimed he had used them for medical purposes, such as for curing headache and making cancer drugs.
By the 1999 Narcotic Regulation Act, possession of up to 10 kilogrammes of marijuana carries the maximum sentence of five years in prison and/or a fine of up to 50,000 baht. Possession of 10kg or more is considered having it with intent to sell and the penalties range from 2-15 years in prison and/or a fine of 20,000 to 150,000 baht.
Photo by Chaiwat Satyaem