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Hidden in punching bags: Thailand seizes drugs worth over $30 million

WION Web Team
New DelhiUpdated: Dec 23, 2021, 04:51 PM IST
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Photograph:(Reuters)

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Officials, while speaking at a news conference said that the Thai customs authorities were suspicious since the Thai boxing training tool is not in such high demand in Australia

Bangkok Port Custom Office seized over 193 kg of amphetamine hidden in punching bags bound for Australia. The drugs were hidden in 15 punching bags. 

In Australia, these drugs would have a value of nearly $30 million. 

Officials, while speaking at a news conference said that the Thai customs authorities were suspicious since the Thai boxing training tool is not in such high demand in Australia. This is why the shipment was inspected. 

However, the authorities did not provide details of when the drugs were seized.

A Thai customs official ripped a long cardboard box and the red outer layer of the boxing punch bag. The drugs were found in the stuffing.

"Australia consumes around 11 tons of methamphetamine per year and spends over 11 billion dollars on illicit narcotics, so there's a market for it, and disrupting it offshore in countries such as Thailand is fantastic and we thank Thailand for the cooperation," Australian Border Force Acting Superintendent Joel Carruthers said.

Methamphetamine production in Southeast Asia's golden triangle, a border region between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar, has been drastically increasing in recent years, reports the UN office on drugs and crimes.

The investigation is still ongoing by both Thai and Australian authorities.