The Excise Office has reported a sharp rise in illegal cigarette activity during the New Year holiday, with incidents tripling compared to normal levels. Excise chief Sutham Suriyo stated that authorities have been directed to intensify enforcement efforts, focusing on retailers and smugglers openly selling illegal cigarettes to consumers and tourists in defiance of the law.
Sutham highlighted the growing prevalence of illegal cigarette consumption in early 2024, with over 60% of cases occurring in southern provinces. Phuket ranked fourth among the worst-affected areas, following Songkhla, Satun, and Phatthalung, with illicit cigarette use in the province reaching 74.4%.
“In the early months of 2024, including the New Year holiday period, 26,669 packs of illegal cigarettes, valued at 2.96 million baht, were seized in Phuket,” Sutham reported. “This marked a significant increase compared to the annual average of 9,800 packs per month. Total seizures for 2024 so far amount to 117,580 packs, valued at 116.54 million baht. The surge in smuggling and distribution during the New Year holiday has resulted in a threefold increase in incidents.”
The spike in illegal activity coincided with the long New Year holiday, which saw an influx of tourists. Opportunistic cigarette sellers capitalized on the season’s high demand by stocking and selling illegal cigarettes. They exploited the focus of security officials on travel safety and public festivities to smuggle in larger quantities of contraband.
In response, the Phuket Excise Office has strengthened its crackdown on illegal, tax-evading, and counterfeit cigarettes. Authorities have been instructed to enhance investigations, ramp up arrests, and suppress smuggling operations across all sales channels.
Special attention is being given to online platforms, where an uptick in illegal cigarette orders has been detected. Many of these are transported through private delivery companies or postal services, causing substantial revenue losses for the government. Stricter law enforcement measures have been implemented to address this issue and curb the illegal trade effectively.
