A Philippine couple have been arrested in Bangkok for allegedly posting 10 kilogrammes of dried cannabis back home with intent to sell it.
Immigration police arrested John Andrew Tiangson, 35, and his wife Eena Bianca Marie Cruz, 30, on Tuesday at a townhouse on Soi On Nut 65 in Prawet district, Pol Maj Gen Phanthana Nuchanart, deputy chief of the Immigration Bureau, said on Wednesday.
Their arrest followed advice from authorities in the Philippines that customs officers had intercepted a parcel containing 10 kilogrammes of dried cannabis in February this year. The parcel had been sent from Thailand to Manila.
According to Pol Maj Gen Phanthana, dried marijuana could fetch about 975 baht per gramme in the Philippines. The seized cannabis had an estimated street value of 10 million baht in Manila.
The package had been sent via a parcel service in Bangkok, he said.
Investigators learned that the parcel had been sent by a Philippine couple. Further checks found they had overstayed their visas by nine years.
The couple were tracked down to a townhouse on Soi On Nut 65, and immigration police arrested them there. They were handed over to Prawet police for legal action and eventual deportation.
Pol Maj Gen Phanthana said the couple would be blacklisted by immigration for 10 years.
Immigration police gather in front of a townhouse in On Nut area, Bangkok on Tuesday to arrest a Philippine couple who allegedly posted 10kg of dried cannabis to their home country. (Photo supplied/ Wassayos Ngamkham)