Thailand and the United Kingdom have intensified cooperation to curb illegal cannabis smuggling, introducing tougher penalties and expanding intelligence sharing following a surge in trafficking cases.
David Thomas, Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Bangkok, said the measures represented a shift towards preventing offences earlier by deterring people from being exploited by organised criminal networks.
Under a Thai Customs penalty regime introduced on June 17, anyone caught attempting to smuggle cannabis flowers or cannabis products out of Thailand must forfeit the seized goods to the state and pay a fine of 30,000 baht per kilogramme.
Those who fail to pay the fine will face further legal proceedings.
The measure follows two years of joint operations between Thai and UK agencies focused on border security, intelligence sharing and law enforcement.
UK agencies, including the National Crime Agency, Border Force and Home Office International Operations, have worked with Thai counterparts including the Thai Customs Department, Immigration Bureau, Tourist Police and Airport Police.
The tougher approach comes after a rise in cannabis trafficking to the UK. In 2025, nearly 1,000 cannabis couriers were arrested, up 22% from 2024, involving attempts to export more than two tonnes of cannabis with an estimated value of £6 million (268 million baht) in the UK market.
Phantong Loykulnanta, director-general of the Thai Customs Department, said Thailand has strengthened controls on cannabis exports to protect the country's reputation and build confidence among international partners.
He said cannabis permitted for export must be for medical use, approved by Thai authorities and authorised for import by destination countries.
From Oct 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026, the Customs Department seized illegally traded cannabis in 3,309 cases, involving 37,210kg worth more than 474 million baht. Of these, 3,266 cases involved illegal exports, with the UK the destination in 2,133 cases, accounting for 65% of export cases.
The seizures involved 13,960kg of cannabis with an estimated UK market value of more than 6.2 billion baht.
Mr Phantong said the department had strengthened cooperation with UK agencies under the Thailand–UK Partnership on Cannabis Border Controls and Enforcement. The partnership includes intelligence sharing, passenger and cargo screening, and specialist detection equipment.
Since the new penalty regime took effect on June 17, the Customs Department has arrested 71 people, as of Wednesday, attempting to illegally export cannabis through international airports and seized about 1.3 tonnes of cannabis.
