1.6 tons of drugs hidden in cabbages

BANGKOK (AFP) — Thai police arrested a 39-year-old man after finding 1.6 tons of ketamine and crystal methamphetamine buried under cabbages in his pickup truck.

Authorities stopped the vehicle at a petrol station in central Ayutthaya over the weekend. Bangkok police said Sunday that officers discovered 900 kilograms of ketamine and 700 kilograms of crystal meth beneath the vegetables.

The driver “was hired to transport the drugs for 100,000 baht ($3,000),” police said. Trafficking charges carry 15 years to life in prison.

Police suspect the drugs came from a neighboring country. Thailand, a major hub for meth trafficking, frequently records large seizures of heroin and methamphetamine.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime said East and Southeast Asia saw a record 236 tons of meth seized in 2024, a 24 percent increase from 2023. Thailand was the “main transit and destination point for methamphetamine” from Myanmar, recording the largest regional seizures.