The Nakhon Phanom Mekong patrol command seized 538 kilogrammes of marijuana smuggled across the river from Laos early Monday.
Captain Natthapong Phannarai, acting commander of the Nakhon Phanom Mekong patrol command, said one of his patrols had spotted a boat from Laos transporting goods ashore in Ban Na Khatha village in Tambon Phathai in Tha Uthane district at 4.30am.
Navy troops saw seven or eight men carrying bags ashore. When the Navy boat approached, the men dispersed into the darkness while the boat sped back to Laos.
The Navy officials found 538 bars of marijuana, weighing one kg apiece, in 13 bags along with three motorcycles and two pushcarts that were abandoned at the scene.
