Hong Kong customs seizes record B533m marijuana shipped by sea from Thailand
published : 21 Sep 2026 at 08:20
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: South China Morning Post
Hong Kong has made the largest seizure of drugs shipped by sea in its history, discovering HK$125 million (533 million baht) worth of marijuana in a 40-foot container.
The Customs and Excise Department revealed on Saturday that it had selected a seaborne container for inspection earlier in September.
The container had been declared as containing insulated boxes arriving from Thailand.
Upon examining the container, officers found 1,342 boxes, 364 of which contained about 535 kilogrammes of cannabis buds.
The cannabis had been hidden inside the boxes using vacuum-packed bags.
A 44-year-old Vietnamese man was also arrested on the same day after arriving to collect the consignment, the department said.
Customs said the Vietnamese man was charged with attempting to traffick in a dangerous drug, while the two local men were released on bail pending further investigation.
The case is set to be heard at Kowloon City Court on Monday.
Under the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance, those found guilty of trafficking in a dangerous drug can face life imprisonment and a fine of HK$5 million.
Customs said that it had also arrested three people at Hong Kong airport in two separate cases for allegedly hiding about HK$1.4 million worth of cannabis in total inside their luggage.
Both cases involved mainland Chinese men who arrived from Bangkok.
Vocabulary
- consignment (noun): goods that are delivered to someplace - จำนวนสินค้าที่ส่งไป
- container: a large metal or wooden box of a standard size in which goods are packed so that they can easily be lifted onto a ship, train, etc. to be transported - ตู้บรรจุสินค้า
- Customs Department: a government department which checks and collects taxes on goods leaving or entering the country - กรมศุลกากร
- declare: to announce officially that something is true or happening - ประกาศ ยืนยัน
- Excise Department (noun): the government department responsible for collecting taxes on goods made, sold or used within a country - กรมสรรพสามิต
- inspection: an official process of checking that things are in the correct condition or that people are doing what they should - การตรวจสอบตรวจตรา
- insulated: protected with a material that prevents heat, sound, electricity, etc. from passing through - ห่อหุ้มด้วยฉนวน (ป้องกันความร้อน, กระแสไฟ, รังสีฯลฯ)
- traffick: to obtain and sell things illegally, especially illegal drugs - ค้าขายยาเสพย์ติดหรือมนุษย์
- vacuum (noun): a vaccum cleaner; equipment for cleaning rugs, carpets... - เครื่องดูดฝุ่น
