Chinese passenger held with 8,900 weight-loss pens at Suvarnabhumi
Customs officers arrest a Chinese passenger arriving from Dhaka at Suvarnabhumi Airport with 8,900 unregistered GLP-1 weight-loss pens worth over THB5.34 million.
Thai customs officers have arrested a Chinese passenger at Suvarnabhumi Airport after discovering 8,900 unregistered weight-loss injection pens worth more than THB5.34 million concealed in two suitcases.
Santanee Phairattanakorn, director of the Suvarnabhumi Airport Passenger Control Customs Office, reported that the man was arrested on October 31, 2026, after travelling from Dhaka, Bangladesh.
An inspection of his luggage uncovered the 8,900 pens inside two suitcases. The products had not been registered or authorised by the Thai Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Customs tightens controls on weight-loss drugs
The Customs Department has stepped up efforts to prevent the smuggling of illegal and substandard products into Thailand, with particular attention to injectable weight-loss medicines in the GLP-1 group, which are subject to special controls.
According to the department, such medicines have previously been smuggled into Thailand through international passenger arrivals and other customs checkpoints without the required drug registration or FDA authorisation.
Customs authorities stated that the attempted import violated the Customs Act 2017, the Drug Act 1967, as amended, and other applicable laws.
