At a Thai port, customs officials line up 1.4 tons of dried cannabis bricks and pre-rolled joints, apply “premium” labels and Bob Marley stickers, and pack them all up, ready to send them to their destination market in the United Kingdom. I arranged it. Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalize cannabis two years ago, and British ports and airports have recorded a sharp rise in seizures of drugs smuggled from the country.
In the past two weeks alone, more than 260 kg (573 pounds) of cannabis has been found at British airports in suitcases carried by passengers arriving from Bangkok. Two Malaysians were also among those arrested, adding to a growing list of at least 90 compatriots detained at UK borders this year for cannabis-related offences.
The UK's National Crime Agency (NCA) has warned that organized crime groups are increasing cannabis cultivation in Thailand, Canada and the US, where high-quality, high-strength bud is legal and a fraction of the normal amount. It can be cultivated at a cost of The cost of manufacturing in the UK.
This profitability allows these groups to easily offset smuggling costs by using containers or hiring couriers, while minimizing the risks associated with operating a UK-based grow house. Masu.
Cannabis farms or growers busted by UK police. Photo: National Crime Agency/Handout
But if you succumb to the lure of quick cash and are caught smuggling cannabis, which is still abundant and legal in Thailand, you can face up to 14 years in prison for drug trafficking in the UK. There is a possibility.
