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Singapore a transit point for UK-bound cannabis from Samui
Thai customs officials say pattern persists despite warning from US authorities to their citizensPUBLISHED : 29 Jan 2026 at 14:41
WRITER: Online Reporters
Dried cannabis flowers found during a search of travellers’ bags in March last year are seen at Samui Airport before being sent to the Bo Phut police station on the tourist island in Surat Thani province. (Photo: Handout via Bangkok Post)
SURAT THANI - Tourists have been using Singapore as a transit point to traffic cannabis from Thailand to the United Kingdom, customs officials say.
Samui Customs Office chief Ruangyos Komoltham said on Wednesday that many marijuana seizures made between March and September last year were linked to a popular trafficking pattern.
A lot of the cannabis seized was destined to be brought to the UK via Singapore, mostly by British holiday makers.
Travellers appeared to have been undeterred by a warning that UK authorities issued in 2024, stating that they would face serious prison time for bring cannabis back from Thailand.
The Samui customs office confiscated 406.6 kilogrammes of dried weed from tourists during the seven-month period at Samui Airport, with UK citizens being prime suspects. Its street price was estimated at 4 million baht in Thailand.
A major bust took place on March 12 when authorities inspected suitcases from five UK air travellers and one Malaysian at the airport on the island and found dried cannabis flowers weighing almost 144kg inside.
The official did not say whether the suspects were in the same or separate groups. All admitted to wrongdoing to customs authorities and police upon arrest, he added.
The seized drugs were donated on Wednesday to Tha Chang Hospital in Tha Chang district of Surat Thani for medical use.
