Brits are being offered free holidays to Thailand – but on one very illegal condition. According to local Thai news outlet Bangkok Post, an urgent warning has been issued by police to tell how drug smugglers are recruiting Brits using the Telegram messaging app.
Police Lieutenant General Phanurat Lukboon, secretary-general of Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has claimed that once contact has been made, Brits are being told that they can have a free tour of Thailand, and spending money, as long as they smuggle cannabis back into the United Kingdom.
(Image: Getty Images)
According to reports, hundreds of kilogrammes have been smuggled from Thailand into the UK, with most of it being seized – and the official claimed that Brits are “not” being tricked, as they know what they’re signing up for.
Lieutenant Lukboon said: “These people who are recruited in Britain are not tricked. They are tempted with free tours, accommodation and meals in Thailand, plus pocket money, in exchange for their agreement to bring cannabis back to Britain.”
It was also claimed that a parcel from the UK to Bangkok intended for a pair of British and Dutch nationals in the country contained 210 grams of ecstasy disguised as a dietary supplement, while a raid on a rental property uncovered 36kg of cannabis and 1.4kg of potent cannabis resin inside the building. The pair had been in the country for four months, and had become key players in the cannabis industry for export to the UK.
(Image: Getty Images)
Cannabis is actually legal in Thailand, but not in the UK where it is classed as a Class B drug, alongside Codeine, Ketamine, Amphetamines and more. If found to have been in possession of Class B drugs, you could face a prison sentence of up to five years and/or an unlimited prison sentence.
The maximum penalty for supply and production is 14 years in prison and/or an unlimited fine – neither of which seem worth a free trip to Thailand. The Daily Star has reached out to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for a comment.
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