Three smugglers caught at Phuket airport, including woman with 16kg of heroin

Customs officials at Phuket airport have arrested three suspected smugglers in two separate cases, including a South African woman accused of attempting to take 16 kilogrammes of heroin to Uganda.

According to the Customs Department, the woman was stopped during departure checks before boarding a flight to Entebbe on Saturday. Officials said the heroin had been hidden in pet food bags. She was charged and held in custody for legal processing. Her name was not released.

Customs officials estimated the local value of the heroin at 48 million baht and said it would be worth about twice that amount in Uganda.

In a separate case on Friday, customs officers arrested two Uzbek nationals arriving at Phuket airport after 35 used mobile phones were found in their luggage. The phones were detected during x-ray screening of their bags.

The two were charged with smuggling the phones into Thailand. Officials said they suspected the pair were involved in scamming, and the investigation was continuing. Their names were not released.

The arrests came in back-to-back operations at Phuket airport involving both outbound and inbound passengers.