Recent cases suggest drugs bags and sachets have been packed by professionals and not by vulnerable young women. Thai law enforcers believe that the ease of entering and leaving Thailand without a formal visa is leading to the targeting of UK nationals to act as drugs smugglers. Police lieutenant colonel Arun Musikim pointed out that British passport holders (amongst others) do not need a visa to enter Thailand for up to 60 days under visa-exempt rules. All foreign visitors are now required to complete an online landing card prior to arrival, but this is not part of a pre-flight approval strategy. British backpackers have been prominent amongst recent anti-drugs arrests. In March 2025, over half the 13 foreigners arrested for trying to smuggle 826 kilos of illegal substances out of Thailand were young Brits. Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi airport was the departure point for both Bella Culley and Charlotte May who were arrested respectively on arrival in Georgia and Sri Lanka earlier this month. Former police general Jemal Janashia, based in Georgia, suggested that the luggage of both Bella and Charlotte had been packed professionally in bags and sachets containing kush, synthetic cannabis which is many times stronger than traditional pot. He believed that both young women had been bribed to carry the drugs, possibly by other Brits who had befriended them during their separate sojourns in Thailand. Thailand’s Narcotic Suppression Police stressed that the use of drugs mules was replacing individuals strapping substances to their person or swallowing them in condoms because of enhanced security systems at airports, including x-rays and biometric data checks. Police lieutenant colonel Arun pointed out that Thailand’s southern islands had an excellent climate for cannabis plantation. He suggested that gangs in the UK were on the lookout for naïve fellow-Brit travellers, especially single young people vacationing on a shoestring budget. Potential drug mules may also be fooled by the 2022 decriminalization of cannabis in Thailand and the subsequent boom in retail outlets, especially in tourist-orientated areas. This may have led to an erroneous belief that checks at airports are a mere formality. In fact, the export of drugs is rigorously controlled by the Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances legislation. Hundreds of kilos of cannabis alone are seized weekly in Thailand, especially at exit points. A Thai immigration spokesperson said that the visa-exempt rules are currently under review on orders from the prime minister. Bangkok health authorities are urging the government to limit the purchase use of cannabis to those holding a medical certificate. In the meantime, the British consular service is redoubling its efforts to warn the naive that the promise of a luxurious lifestyle abroad can lead to incarceration in a foreign jail.