UPDATE: Belgian woman arrested at Phuket Airport with 31.7kg of cannabis
Thai authorities said they arrested a 21-year-old Belgian woman at Phuket Airport after finding 31.7kg of cannabis in two suitcases bound for a flight to Paris.
A 21-year-old Belgian tourist was arrested at Phuket Airport’s international departures terminal on Tuesday after authorities said they found about 31.7 kilograms of cannabis in two suitcases and charged her with customs and cannabis-related offences.
Officials identified the suspect as Salma El Khnati, 21. According to authorities, she was preparing to check in for a flight from Phuket to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France when officers identified two suspicious suitcases belonging to her, one green-and-white and the other black.
A search of the bags uncovered 12 vacuum-sealed bags containing 28.3kg of cannabis flowers and eight bags containing 3.4kg of processed cannabis, with the total haul valued at more than 5.38 million baht, authorities said.
Authorities said El Khnati admitted that the suitcases and their contents belonged to her.
She was charged with attempting to export goods from Thailand without completing customs procedures, in violation of the Customs Act (2017), along with offences under the Narcotics Code, the Thai Traditional Medicine Protection and Promotion Act (1999), and the Ministry of Public Health’s 2025 declaration listing cannabis as a controlled herb, as well as other relevant laws.
The suspect and the seized cannabis were handed over to Sakhu Police Station for further investigation and prosecution.
Sakhu Police Chief Col Salan Santisasanakul said the arrest resulted from increased cooperation between security agencies and Customs officials to strengthen inspections of passengers and baggage at Phuket International Airport. He said authorities would continue to intensify screening measures to prevent the illegal export of controlled goods and warned that offenders would face prosecution under the law.
The arrest came less than a week after two Uzbek nationals, both aged 26, were caught at Phuket Airport attempting to smuggle a combined 31.5kg of cannabis products out of Thailand on July 1, according to authorities.
