UK Reports 90% Decrease In Mail-Order Cannabis Imports From Thailand
NORTHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 18: Staff work in the packet and parcel section of the Royal Mail's ... More Swan Valley mail centre on December 18, 2013 in Northampton, England. This Friday the 20th is the last day for first class mail for Christmas. This will be the first Christmas since privatisation, Royal Mail is also set to join the FTSE 100 only two months since its debut. (Photo by)
Cannabis shipments from Thailand to the UK have plunged by 90% in just three months as a crackdown led by Thai Customs and British officials starts to bite.
The Home Office revealed last week a sharp drop in cannabis arriving by post from Thailand to the UK. In just three months, the volume fell by 90%. The Home Office credits the decline to a new partnership with Thai Customs.
Since Thailand decriminalized cannabis in 2022, illegal shipments to the UK have surged. By the end of last year, Border Force had intercepted 15 tonnes in the mail alone.
However, following intense diplomatic engagement, the UK Border Force and Thai Customs set up a new agreement, requiring parcels from Thailand to be checked before they are shipped.
Border Force detected 1.5 tonnes of cannabis coming through the post in the first quarter of 2025. This marks a 90% reduction. The drop is a result of the extra checks now taking place in Thailand.
Seema Malhotra, Minister for Citizenship and Migration, called it a 'prime example' of what cooperation can do. She said it supports Labour's focus on making streets safer.
'This collaboration is delivering real results and it's a prime example of how international cooperation is crucial to our Plan for Change, safer streets mission,' she said in a press statement.
As Thai Customs also tightened border checks, that move led to more than 800 cannabis smugglers being caught between October 2024 and March 2025. During the same period, Thai officials seized over nine tonnes of the drug.
Last year saw a record number of illegal drug seizures in the UK. Border Force and the police seized 119 tonnes. This was worth £3 billion ($4 billion) on the streets. The figure represented a 52% increase from the year before.
In another operation, the Home Office stopped £6 million ($8 million) worth of cannabis at Bangkok Airport.
Border Force and the National Crime Agency also worked together on the ground in Thailand. Operation Chaophraya began in July 2024. Since then, more than 50 British nationals have been arrested in Thailand for attempting to smuggle cannabis.
Phil Douglas, Director General of Border Force, said their work starts long before the UK border. He said they rely on global partnerships to stop drugs from ever getting near.
'We are using advanced intelligence more than ever before and last year we made a record number of drug seizures, including the highest harm substances,' he said in a press statement.
While the UK and Thailand are working together to stop cannabis smuggling, as the drug is still illegal in the UK, Thailand is reassessing its own cannabis laws.
In 2022, Thailand became the first country in Asia to remove cannabis from its narcotics list.
Although cannabis decriminalization was meant to support farmers and boost the economy, it allowed people to grow and possess cannabis, creating an unregulated gray market. In fact, cannabis businesses quickly popped up across the country, making Thailand's cannabis status attractive to tourists. Cannabis directory WEED.TH records more than 10,000 cannabis shops across the country.
However, at the same time, public health concerns began to rise, leading the government elected in 2023, led by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, to reconsider the legal status of cannabis and move toward ending decriminalization.
After the removal of Srettha as Prime Minister by the Constitutional Court of Thailand on 14 August 2024, the new government, led by Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra, introduced in late 2024 a bill to regulate the cannabis trade. It didn't directly ban recreational use, but it marked a new direction after years of debate following decriminalization in 2022.
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