Mae Sot Border Raid Nets 13.5 Tonnes Illegal Avocados, Four Arrested
A joint task force seized 13.5 tonnes of avocados smuggled across the Myanmar border in Mae Sot, Tak province, arresting four suspects and confiscating four pickup trucks. The operation, led by the Phra Phirun Center for Agricultural and Food Security alongside plant quarantine and ranger units, targeted a convoy bypassing customs procedures. Authorities charged the suspects under plant quarantine and customs laws, and vowed to maintain strict border surveillance to protect Thai farmers from illegal agricultural imports.
Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Saravuth Neungchamnong, in his capacity as commander of the Phra Phirun Center for Agricultural and Food Security, revealed that following his order for the Phra Phirun task force to continuously sweep and intercept illegal agricultural smuggling along the border, on November 9, 2026 at approximately 18:00, the task force joined with Mae Sot Plant Quarantine Checkpoint officials and Ranger Unit 1431 to raid a convoy smuggling avocados without customs procedures on the Tha-aj to Wang Ta Kian road in Moo 4, Tha Sai Luad subdistrict, Mae Sot district, Tak province. They arrested four suspects along with 540 boxes of smuggled avocados weighing a total of 13,500 kilograms and four pickup trucks. Charges were filed under the Plant Quarantine Act B.E. 2507, Sections 8(2) and 10, and Section 21, and the Customs Act B.E. 2560, Sections 246, 166, and 167. The suspects and all evidence were handed over to Mae Sot Police Station investigators for prosecution. Meanwhile, the Phra Phirun Center was ordered to maintain strict surveillance along the entire border to prevent illegal agricultural products from entering and damaging Thai farmers' market mechanisms, Saravuth said.
