Four Britons and a Malaysian have been arrested at Samui international airport with bags containing 144 kilogrammes of cannabis buds destined for Britain and Singapore, police said on Thursday.
The five foreigners were checking in with seven suitcases for a flight from the resort island to Singapore at 6pm on Wednesday when police pulled them aside to have the bags searched.
The four Brits were planning to take another flight from Singapore to Britain. They said Thai men had asked them to bring the bags to the UK in exchange for either debt repayment or £2,000 (about 87,000 baht), according to police.
The street value of the cannabis haul in the UK is estimated at a minimum of 15 million baht.
The Malaysian was carrying a bag containing 22.8kg of cannabis buds. He had been hired for about 45,000 baht to smuggle the bag to Singapore, his final destination.
Police were looking for the mastermind of the smuggling ring.
