SUVARNABHUMI — Thai Customs officials have apprehended a Brazilian man and woman at Suvarnabhumi Airport attempting to smuggle cocaine internationally from South America through Europe to Thailand, with an estimated value exceeding $680,000.
Mr. Phantong Loikulnun, spokesperson for the Thai Customs Department, reported that the department collaborated with the Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF), comprising the Office of Narcotics Control Board and the Narcotics Suppression Bureau. They received intelligence about two passengers—a 26-year-old Brazilian woman and a 27-year-old Brazilian man—suspected of smuggling illegal narcotics into Thailand.
The suspects traveled from Salvador International Airport in Brazil, transferring at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France, with Thailand as their final destination.
Surveillance officers monitored baggage carousel #18 for Air France arrivals and identified the Brazilian suspects matching their intelligence profile. Officials followed them to the customs checkpoint, where both suspects chose the green channel (nothing to declare). Officers then identified themselves, requested passports, and directed their luggage through X-ray machines.
Initial X-ray analysis revealed suspicious anomalies in both soft-shell wheeled suitcases. Upon inspection, officers discovered objects wrapped in black carbon paper along the walls and bottom of the suitcases. Inside were clear plastic packages containing white powder. Testing with ONCB052 Cobalt Thiocyanate Reagent confirmed the substance as cocaine, weighing 7,400 grams with an approximate value of 22,200,000 baht ($681,580).
The case constitutes unauthorized importation and possession of Category 2 narcotics (cocaine), violating the Narcotics Code, Customs Act, and other related laws.
The Customs spokesperson noted that in fiscal year 2025 (October 1, 2024 – May 6, 2025), Thai Customs has recorded 140 drug seizure cases with a total value of 800.67 million baht ($24.6 million).
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