[DrKirkNoliss]

Border patrol police on Thursday morning seized 190kg of compressed marijuana, or ganja, believed to have been sent from Laos, on the bank of the Mekong river in Tha Uthen district of Nakhon Phanom province.

Pol Maj Tawee Phanoy, commander of BPP Company 237, said the marijuana was hidden in bushes on the Mekong river bank in tambon Chai Buri of Tha Uthen district. They found it after fishermen reporting spotting five sacks containing the drug about 5.30am.

Compressed dried marijuana is sold on the Thai side of the river at 5,000 baht per kilogramme and the price goes up to 30,000 baht in the inner provinces, he said.

Pol Maj Tawee said it is usually difficult to arrest marijuana smugglers because they take the drugs across the river from Laos by boat in the night and leave it at a predetermined spot on the Thai side before calling the buyers on the telephone to pick it up.