NCA and Thailand crack down on cannabis smugglers to Britain

Thai customs began a new fines regime on 17 June 2026. The National Crime Agency and Thai authorities stepped up a crackdown on cannabis smugglers moving product from Thailand to Britain. The route has expanded fast, with 142 cannabis smugglers caught arriving in the UK by plane in 2023, 801 in 2024 and 976 in 2025, while 600 air-passenger couriers were arrested at UK airports in the first six months of 2026.

Thailand decriminalised possession of cannabis in 2022, but exporting it without the right permissions remains illegal. Traffickers have used that split to recruit travellers willing to carry large loads through Bangkok and on to the UK. The National Crime Agency puts the average courier caught in Thailand at 26 kilos of cannabis, which under the new tariff means a fine of about 30,000 baht a kilo, or roughly £17,680. If the money is not paid, Thai authorities can prosecute offenders and the penalty can include up to two years in jail.

Beki Wright, who heads the NCA’s Borders Threat Team, warned in Bangkok on 8 July 2026 that couriers could be detained for two years until payment is made. She said they also face life-changing prison terms, criminal records and abandonment by the crime groups that recruited them.

UK Border Force and Thai customs cut cannabis arriving by post from Thailand by 90% in the first three months of 2025 after an agreement requiring parcels to be checked before shipment. Border Force detected more than 15 tonnes in the post in the last quarter of 2024, then 1.5 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025. In February 2025, Operation Chaophraya at Bangkok Airport led to more than 2 tonnes of cannabis being surrendered from transiting passengers, with an estimated value of £6 million. Since the operation began in July 2024, more than 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempted cannabis smuggling.

Thai Customs seized illegal cannabis in 3,309 cases totaling more than 37,210 kilograms from 1 October 2025 to 30 June 2026. More than 65% of those cases, or 2,133, were linked to the United Kingdom, and nearly 14,000 kilograms were destined for the UK. Phanthong Loykulnanta, director-general of Thai Customs, called the illegal export of cannabis transnational organised crime and said the new measure is meant to make smuggling harder and reduce offenders. UK authorities say the partnership is aimed at disrupting criminal networks, protecting communities and stopping drugs at source.