18 falsely declared e-waste containers seized at Laem Chabang
Authorities impounded 18 containers of suspected e-waste at Laem Chabang Port, saying the imports were falsely declared and breached Thai law
Thai authorities have seized 18 containers of suspected illegal electronic waste at Laem Chabang Port after discovering that the shipments had been falsely declared, with the government vowing to send the waste back to its countries of origin and insisting that Thailand will not become the world’s dumping ground.
On March 10, 2026, Deputy Prime Minister and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin led a team of senior officials from relevant agencies, including the Chon Buri governor, the director-general of the Customs Department, the director-general of the Pollution Control Department and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), to inspect suspicious containers believed to have been used to smuggle illegal electronic waste into the country.
Inspection of all 18 containers found irregularities in three main groups.
The first group comprised 12 containers declared as scrap metal from Haiti. However, inspections found the shipments contained scrap metal mixed with electronic circuit boards, classifying them as electronic waste. The total weight was about 284,919 kilogrammes, with an estimated value of more than 2.53 million baht.
The second group consisted of four containers identified through information provided by the DSI and the Basel Action Network (BAN). These shipments were declared as metal scraps and mixed metal from the United States, with transport destinations listed as Japan and Hong Kong.
The third group involved two containers that had already been seized by the Customs Department because the importer had previously been flagged through information from the BAN network. These shipments were declared as aluminium scrap from the United States and the Netherlands.
The operation follows the seizure of 21 containers in February, 12 of which were found to contain electronic waste. Preliminary findings indicate that the smuggling violated Thai law and the Basel Convention.
The Customs Department is preparing legal action under Section 244 of the Customs Act 2017, which carries penalties of up to 10 years’ imprisonment or a fine of no more than 500,000 baht. Authorities will also impose a settlement fine equivalent to 20% of the declared value and move quickly to return the waste to its countries of origin to prevent it from remaining in Thailand.
Suchart stressed the government’s firm stance on banning imports of electronic waste, plastic waste and municipal waste in order to protect the environment and public health.
He said Thailand would not, under any circumstances, serve as a destination for hazardous waste from overseas.
