Hatyai News Center – Soldiers from the Thep Satree Task Force, Infantry Company 5021, together with Sadao Police and Sadao Customs officers, joined forces to intercept a “human ant army” while they were smuggling kratom leaves across the border. Five suspects were arrested, and 300 kilograms of kratom leaves were seized.
On October 24, Col. Thaveepron Khanathong, Commander of Task Force Infantry Regiment 5; Lt. Col. Kittikhun Na Wayo, Staff Officer of Task Force Infantry Regiment 5; Lt. Dulayawat Ponathong, Head of Operations Section; and Capt. Nitiphon Chanratsamee, Commander of Infantry Company 5021, along with soldiers from the Thep Satree Task Force, Sadao Police, and Sadao Customs officers, conducted a joint operation to intercept the smugglers along the Thailand–Malaysia border fence near Boundary Marker No. 17/18, Village No. 4, Ban Thap Kob, Samnak Kham Subdistrict, Sadao District, Songkhla Province.
The operation followed intelligence reports indicating that a group was planning to smuggle kratom leaves from Malaysia into Thailand through an informal border crossing in the area.
Authorities detained five men, aged between 25 and 50, who were responsible for carrying the kratom leaves across the border into Thailand. They also seized ten sacks of kratom leaves, each weighing 30 kilograms — a total of 300 kilograms — along with one radio transceiver.
During questioning, all five suspects confessed that they had been hired to smuggle kratom leaves from Malaysia into Thailand through an illegal crossing near Boundary Marker No. 17/18. The contraband was intended for delivery to clients in Pattani Province. They admitted to being paid 4 baht per kilogram, or about 120 baht per sack, and revealed that they had conducted similar smuggling operations multiple times before.
The suspects, along with all confiscated evidence, were handed over to investigators at Sadao Police Station for further legal proceedings.
