A Malaysian man has been arrested for trying to smuggle more than half a ton of cannabis into his country across Thailand’s southern border, police said Tuesday.
It was the latest major bust on a well-worn smuggling route.
Mohd Nizam Bin Ishak, 34, was stopped on Monday while driving a truck with fake Malaysian licence plates at a border checkpoint at Sadao, Songkhla.
Investigators said they found 520 kilograms of marijuana worth around THB15 million hidden under furniture in the back of the truck.
“The suspect confessed to the trafficking charge and said he was hired for 1,000 ringgit (THB9,000) to transport marijuana from Hat Yai to a warehouse in Kuala Lumpur,” police Lieutenant General Rawat Klinkasorn said in a statement.
The suspect also allegedly confessed to moving drugs along the same route on previous occasions.
Major General Chartee Paisarnsilp, divisional commander of the narcotics suppression police, said the cannabis came from a neighboring country but declined to say which one.
Thai police last month announced a major bust involving a Malaysian gang allegedly smuggling millions of dollars of heroin and methamphetamine between the two countries by train.
So far 21 Malaysians have been arrested for links to that operation.
Story: AFP
