2 travelers from Brazil arrested with $610,000 in cocaine at Bangkok airport

Two passengers who flew into Bangkok from Brazil on Sunday were arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport after officers found cocaine worth an estimated 20.4 million baht (US$610,000) hidden in the lining of their luggage.

The pair had traveled from Guarulhos International Airport in Sao Paulo, the Bangkok Post reported, citing Thailand's Customs Department.

The Airport Interdiction Task Force searched their two bags and found the cocaine, which weighed 6.8 kg including packaging, the department said. It did not release the passengers' names.

Both are Brazilian nationals, Thai daily Matichon reported. Officers from the department's investigation and suppression division and the task force arrested them on suspicion of illegally importing cocaine, a Category 2 narcotic under Thailand's Narcotics Code, and of violating the Customs Act, the newspaper said.

The two were handed over to investigators, along with the seized drugs, for legal proceedings.

Travelers in a concourse at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand. Photo by Unsplash/Markus Winkler

In June, customs officers at Suvarnabhumi, Thailand's busiest airport, arrested a Turkish man who had flown in from Guarulhos with more than 12 kg of cocaine, The Nation reported.

The drugs, valued at about 36 million baht, were allegedly hidden in coffee bags and chocolate packaging.