Border patrol police yesterday seized 40 sacks of fresh kratom (Mitragyna speciosa) leaves weighing 864 kilogrammes, in a raid near the border in Songkhla's Sadao district.
A single suspect was seen abandoning the sacks and fleeing the scene during the raid, according to Pol Lt Col Suthep Chukaeo, head of the 437th Border Patrol Police Company in Sadao district, who led the operation.
The market value of the kratom leaves intercepted while being smuggled into Thailand through Ban Talo in tambon Padang Besar is estimated to be around 1,000-1,500 baht per kilogramme, he said, adding that the actual cost of the leaves is 300 baht per kilogramme.
Kratom leaf smugglers are normally people with dual nationality who can travel back and forth more freely between southern Thailand and Malaysia, he said.
The vast amount seized was believed to have been ordered by a major supplier wanting to distribute the leaves to dealers for the New Year festival, Pol Lt Col Suthep said.
Demand for kratom, which is used as a recreational drug, normally peaks at this time of year, he said.
Border patrol police had received an intelligence report that a large amount of kratom would be smuggled into Thailand via a border trail, he said.
In a related development, soldiers along the Thai-Myanmar border have beefed up patrols to ward off an expected influx of drugs.
Third Army commander Wijak Siribansop said 300 to 400 million methamphetamine pills are expected to be smuggled into Thailand from Myanmar by ethnic drug networks seeking money to fund their fight against Myanmar authorities.
The volume of methamphetamine seized coming into Thailand over the past three months is higher than usual, and accounts for one-third of the entire amount of the drug seized over the entire year, Lt Gen Wijak said.
The 3rd Army believes ethnic minority groups, especially the Wa and the Lahu, are badly in need of money, which they raise from the illicit drug trade, after having come under increased pressure from Myanmar authorities.
The Thai army and the Office of the Narcotics Control Board have agreed to install more security cameras along the Thai-Myanmar border in Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Mae Hong Son, especially along paths used by drug smugglers previously, he said.
