The Customs Department arrested six crewmen of a cargo vessel while they were smuggling several million foreign cigarettes worth about 88 million baht, including taxes, into the country via Satun province, department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri said on Tuesday.
Mr Kulit said a special unit tasked with the suppression of cigarette smuggling led by Nathawut Saradan on March 17 at 9.20pm intercepted a cargo vessel seen entering Thai territorial waters at speed from Malaysia in an area north of Tatutao Island in Satun province.
A search of the vessel, Patchareeporn 4, found 577 boxes containing 4.93 million foreign cigarettes of various brands worth a total 88.7 million baht including the various taxes due.
The skipper, Chafi-ee Sameed, 45, and three crewmen Ampol Prabyawa, 54, Roj Wangyunui, 42, and Suksan Thummali, 51, all from Satun province, were charged with smuggling foreign cigarettes into the country in violation of the Customs Act. They were being held for legal processing.
The details were released at a media briefing at the Customs Department in Bangkok on Tuesday morning.