SONGKHLA: Smuggled foreign cigarettes worth about 20 million baht were seized and six people arrested on a fishing boat docked at a pier in Singha Nakhon district on Wednesday, 2nd Naval Area commander V/Adm Sunthorn Khamklai said.
The admiral, speaking as director of the Region 2 Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Centre, said authorities searched a modified fishing boat, the P Rungroj Wattana, at the boat pier in tambon Hua Khao.
They found 694 boxes containing 347,000 packets of cigarettes, worth about 20 million baht.
The cigarettes had been smuggled into Thailand on the boat and were about to unloaded when officials arrived.
Six suspected smugglers were arrested, V/Adm Sunthorn said, but released no details.
He said it was the largest seizure of contraband foreign cigarettes so far this year.
The invstigation to track down those behind the smuggling operation was continuing.
He said the seizure was a result of cooperation between the navy and the Excise and Customs departments.
