Two arrested in Sa Kaeo with durians smuggled from Cambodia
Pair nabbed in Sa Kaeo with smuggled durians from Cambodia, likely mean to pose as Thai fruits for export
Police on Sunday intercepted an attempt to smuggle 9,880 kilogrammes of durians from Cambodia to Chanthaburi allegedly meant to be disguised as Thai fruits for export.
Police joined forces with troops and customs officials to stop two pickup trucks on Ban Yod Udom-Ban Nong Samed Road in Moo 3 village in Tambon Nong Waeng of Sa Kaeo province’s Khok Sung district Sunday morning.
Police arrested two Thai drivers after the durians were found on their trucks and they failed to provide import documents and plant quarantine clearing documents.
The two drivers were charged with smuggling fruits and with violating the plant quarantine law.
The durians were seized and taken to the Aranyaprathet customs office for auction.
Police believe the durians were being smuggled to Chanthaburi to pass as Thai durians for exports to China after drought has caused durian production in Chanthaburi to fall by 50%.
Police say they have foiled 20 earlier attempts to smuggle durians across the Sa Kaeo border to Chanthaburi province.
Over two days, police detected five trucks smuggling durians from Cambodia but they could stop only two of them, while three other trucks escaped.
Meanwhile, Chonlatee Numnoo, president of a durian growers’ association in eastern provinces, said he believed the smuggled durians were heading to certain exporters’ warehouses to pass as Thai durians.
