Thailand seizes $30 million of crystal meth hidden in boxing punch bags

Customs officers inspected shipment after growing suspicious of Thai training equipment which is not in high demand

BANGKOK:

Thai authorities have seized crystal methamphetamine with a street value of almost $30 million stuffed inside boxing punch bags bound for Australia, officials said on Thursday.

Customs officers inspected the shipment after growing suspicious of the Thai-made training equipment which is not in high demand in Australia, Thai and Australian officials investigating the matter told a news conference in Bangkok.

More than 193 kg (425 lb) of the drugs, also known as ice, were hidden among 15 different bags.

Surrounded by cameras, a Thai customs official sliced through a long cardboard box and then the red outer layer of the boxing punch bag, exposing the drugs hidden amongst the stuffing.

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"Australia consumes around 11 tons of methamphetamine per year," Australian Border Force Acting Superintendent Joel Carruthers said. "So there's a market for it, and disrupting it offshore in countries such as Thailand is fantastic."

Methamphetamine production in Southeast Asia's Golden Triangle - a border region between Thailand, Laos and Myanmar - has been increasing sharply in recent years, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.