NAKHON PHANOM: A man was arrested with about 480 kilogrammes of compressed marijuana in his possession after his car was intercepted by border patrol police in That Phanom district of this northeastern border province on Saturday night.
Pol Lt Col Sompop Onsin, deputy commander of Border Patrol Police Company 235, said at a press briefing on Sunday morning that the car was intercepted on a road near Ban Khok Sawang in tambon That Phanom Nua with information from intelligence operations.
The car driver, Likit Boonprasit, 25, from Bung Hua Tha village in That Phanom district, was arrested.
Found the in the car were 12 fertiliser sacks containing altogether 480 bars of dried marijuana, each weighing about 1 kg.
Mr Likit allegedly confessed he was to be paid 30,000 baht to deliver the marijuana to Bangkok from That Phanom district. He did not know the exact destinations as he was supposed to receive orders on the telephone while on the way to Bangkok.
The marijuana had been smuggled across the Mekong river to the Thai side by long-tail boats, he said.
Pol Lt Col Sompop said more than 3 tonnes of marijuana were seized in Nakhon Phanom during the past month.