SONGKHLA: Two men were arrested and contraband cigarettes valued at 164 million baht seized during a raid on a warehouse in Hat Yai on Tuesday.
Officials from Songkhla Provincial Excise Office 9, supported by soldiers, searched the warehouse on Plakwa Road in tambon Khuan Lang.
They found stacks of plastic wrapped cardboard boxes containing, in all, 77,250 packets of smuggled cigarettes of 12 brands. The goods were believed destined for delivery to agents in Songkhla and other southern provinces. Excise officials estimated the retail value of the seized contraband at 164 million baht.
Two men were taken into custody - Bancha Phutthasopha, 46, and Thawin Chanthurot, 47 - and a pickup truck seized as evidence.
The duo were charged with illegal possession of untaxed goods in violation of the excise law.
The raid followed a tip-off that a large quantity of smuggled cigarettes would be arriving from across the nearby Malaysian border.
Boxes holding 77,250 packets of smuggled cigarettes worth around 164 million baht are seized during the raid on a warehouse in Songkhla's Hat Yai district on Tuesday. (Photo by Assawin Pakkawan)