PHUKET, (Thailand): Two women were arrested at Phuket International Airport on the same day after customs officers found more than 32kg of cannabis flowers concealed in their luggage.
The arrests were made by officers from Phuket Airport Customs House working with Sakhu Police Station inside the international departures terminal on Thursday (July 9).
Authorities alleged that both women attempted to take cannabis flowers out of Thailand without completing the required customs procedures.
Filipino passenger found with 14.5kg
The first arrest took place at about 11am after officers inspected a black Pierre Cardin wheeled suitcase belonging to 18-year-old Filipino Levannah Chelsea Guzman.
Inside the suitcase, officers found 14 vacuum-sealed packages containing cannabis flowers. The packages, including their wrapping, weighed a total of 14.5kg.
During questioning, Guzman acknowledged that the suitcase and all the seized items belonged to her, according to authorities.
She was charged with attempting to take goods out of the country before they had undergone customs procedures, an offence under the Customs Act BE 2560 (2017).
Authorities also brought charges under the Narcotics Code, the Protection and Promotion of Traditional Thai Medicine Wisdom Act BE 2542 (1999), the Public Health Ministry’s notification on controlled herbs concerning cannabis issued in 2025, and other relevant legislation.
Thai woman detained with 17.6kg
A second arrest followed at about 1pm when officers searched a suspicious green Swish Navy wheeled suitcase belonging to Thai national Penpitcha Phutsiang.
The suitcase contained 16 vacuum-sealed packages of cannabis flowers with a combined weight of 17.6kg.
The woman admitted that the suitcase and all the seized items belonged to her, authorities reported.
She was charged with offences of the same nature before being taken, together with the seized cannabis, to Sakhu Police Station for further investigation and legal proceedings.
The two arrests come amid stricter measures to prevent cannabis flowers from being illegally exported through airports.
Authorities have continued to intensify inspections of outbound passengers’ luggage in an effort to intercept suspected smuggling attempts and enforce the law more rigorously. - The Nation/ANN
