The vast cannabis farms on Thailand’s Koh Samui – where the hit Netflix drama White Lotus was filmed – have sparked a rash of British traffickers arrested for smuggling cannabis
Drug trafficking Brits are operating multi-million cannabis rings from the paradise Thai island where Netflix hit White Lotus was filmed, a Mirror probe reveals today.
Lucrative smuggling networks are so vast that National Crime Agency detectives and Home Office officials have been deployed in Thailand for weeks to tackle the problem. And a wave of UK nationals have been snared with huge hauls in their luggage jetting out of the popular tourist spot of Koh Samui, where the Emmy award-winning HBO show was filmed. Today our investigation reveals at least EIGHT Brits were arrested last month alone trying to move more than 375kg of cannabis in 22 suitcases from the tiny island – worth in excess of £1.7million. One was destined for Singapore and another was jetting to Hong Kong. Others were heading for Britain and Germany.
Meanwhile the Home Office and NCA’s Operation Chaophraya – a taskforce sent to work directly with the Royal Thai Customs – has seen TWO TONNES of cannabis seized across Thai airports over the past month with a street value of more than £6million. At least 51 British nationals were arrested and charged with export offences before being held in hell-hole Thai prisons for trying to bring cannabis into the UK.
Gangs are exploiting a relaxation of Thai laws downgrading the classification of cannabis, meaning sprawling farms rich with high-grade cannabis have sprung up across Koh Samui, just a one-hour flight from Bangkok. The dark drugs trade belies the white sands of opulence enjoyed by the uber-wealthy in the White Lotus show, whose seventh episode was watched by nearly five million viewers last week.
The Mirror visited a farm just minutes from the palatial Four Seasons Resort where Patrick Schwarzenegger, 31, and Charlotte Le Bon, 38, shot the hit drama. There we discovered a cannabis farm made up of hundreds and hundreds of plants growing row upon row just metres from a bustling road.
Tended to by hand by an elderly shop worker, the flowering buds were due to be harvested and dried before being sold to British tourists and backpackers. Inside the shop, jars of products were on offer, including Lemon Haze, Purple Oreo and Black Berry.
Meanwhile a nearby industrial-size cannabis factory next to a military checkpoint laid bare the dangers of cannabis farming in Koh Samui. On the fence, below razor wire, were signs warning that the owners would use firearms on trespassers before alerting police.
Savvy “labs” even offer curious Brits tours of their products as they pump out huge quantities of high-grade cannabis. One farmer told us: “It’s big business. Demand is high, we have no problems selling the product.”
Lt Gen Krittapol Yeesakorn said that smugglers were increasingly targeting Thai airports since the country declassified cannabis. And last night Chris Hobbs, a former special branch officer for border control, said he was “shocked” by the scale of the cannabis smuggling into the UK, where it remains a Class B drug.
In 2002 he spearheaded Operation Airbridge, which posted UK police and customs agents at Jamaican airports to stop cocaine-swallowing smugglers flooding Britain with the drug. Mr Hobbs said: “The figures are shocking. We will need resources to stop it. There needs to be NCA officers on the ground in Thailand to turn a flood of cannabisinto a trickle.
“Smugglers will likely have criminal records or addictions and there needs to be a British presence to profile them before they embark. I’ve worked with cannabis addicts and I know the problem it creates. Given the scale of the problem, we need to stop this cannabis trade.”
Meanwhile Alex Murray, NCA Director of threat leadership, said: “The massive volumes of cannabis coming into the UK from Thailand, the US and Canada are perceived to be high quality and organised crime groups are making significant profits because of it. Couriers should think very carefully about agreeing to smuggle cannabis because there are life-changing consequences.
“Organised crime groups can be very persuasive but as the numbers show, the risk of getting caught is very high and simply not worth it. The NCA continues to work with partners at home and abroad to target high-risk routes, seize shipments of drugs and disrupt the OCGs involved, denying them profits.
“We have been working well with the Thai authorities who are keen to intervene and a team of NCA officers recently assisted colleagues at Bangkok Airport to warn passengers flying to the UK about the repercussions of smuggling cannabis. Border Force have been excellent at detecting these couriers at the border, after which the NCA takes on the investigation.”
Over the last four weeks cops have swooped on a string of British traffickers. On March 17, Darryl Poole, 30, from north London, was detained at the airport on the island of Koh Samui trying to smuggle 165kg of cannabis out of Thailand. On March 13, Shaun Eric Bainbridge, 36, from Middlesbrough, and Mark Searson-Smith, 23, from Liverpool, were arrested at the same airport for carrying cannabis.
On March 12, British passengers Mark Siemaszkiewicz, 46, Richard McMahon, 46, Oluwatosin Peace Adefila, 27, and Bose Esther Fakuade, 26, were detained with 144kgs of cannabis buds. In another case Pol Maj Gen Sermpan Sirikong, from the Thai Police, said a local couple had mistakenly picked up the suitcase belonging to a “bogus British tourist”.
The had travelled to Japan when they opened the bag and discovered 24kg of dried cannabis inside. The suitcase actually belonged to a 51-year-old British man, identified as Mark Barlow. Cops said Mr Barlow arrived in Thailand at Suvarnabhumi airport on March 6.
Without visiting any tourist attractions in Thailand, he left Surat Thani airport and headed to South Korea, Pol Maj Gen Sermpan said. Last night Seema Malhotra, the UK’s minister for Migration and Citizenship said: “We are taking robust action to detect and intercept the illegal smuggling of cannabis into the UK.
“Working alongside the Royal Thai Customs, Border Force and NCA officers were based in Thailand over the last month and intercepted over 2,000kg of cannabis, destined for the UK, with a street value of over £6 million. Across Operation Chaophraya, 51 British nationals were arrested and charged with export offences and a further 50 Malaysian nationals were denied boarding to the UK in possession of cannabis.
“Within the UK, we continue to arrest and prosecute those caught smuggling cannabis. Those who try to exploit our border security and attempt to smuggle cannabis will face the full force of the law. Myself, and other Home Office Ministers will continue to work closely with our Thai counterparts to prevent cannabis being smuggled into the UK, in order to keep our streets safe.”
The National Crime Agency said that in 2024 26,924kg of cannabis was seized from around 750 smugglers flying into UK airports. Of those snared entering the UK with illegal hauls, 460 had arrived from Thailand on commercial flights.
It marked a spike of five times the 5,609kg of cannabis seized for the whole of 2023 when 134 suspects were arrested. And the NCA said it was “an exponential increase” on the two tonnes of cannabis seized in 2022.
A source said: “It’s off the scales. Border Force officers at the airports can’t check everyone and unfortunately cannabis is not the priority.”
Thailand became the first country in Asia to decriminalise cannabis in 2022 for medical purposes, but in practice the market is virtually unregulated.
Neon weed signs have become ubiquitous in Bangkok and Koh Samui’s busy tourist areas, with dispensaries cropping up on every corner.
Hundreds of food and drink vendors advertise cannabis-infused menus. Private recreational use of cannabis is legal if THC content is below 0.2% by weight, but cannabis use in public places remains illegal.
However, rules are already in place to restrict the use of cannabis. Smoking or vaping in public places is not allowed. Causing a “public nuisance” – including through the smell of weed – can lead to a 25,000 baht (£560) fine.
Since cannabis was legalised, over 1.1 million Thai people have registered for licences to grow it and more than 6,000 weed dispensaries have popped up across the country.
The Health Ministry reported a spike in people seeking treatment cannabis-related psychological issues. It went from more than 37,000 patients in 2022 to more than 63,000 in 2023. Other studies pointed to more young people using the drug.