Mae Sai customs intercepted a Myanmar man's vehicle and found bundles of cash totaling 23 million baht inside a box of dried fish strips as he prepared to transport the money across the border out of Thailand. The cash was seized for investigation and legal action.
On 26 June 2026, reporters were informed that Mr. Waris Wisaratanon, Chief of Mae Sai Customs, ordered Ms. Nonglak Sirithaow, Director of the Customs Control Division, Mr. Pichitpong Ektamsut, Head of Investigation and Suppression, and Lieutenant Sak Siam Jamnong, Head of Customs Control and Inspection, to conduct strict vehicle inspections at the border checkpoint.
On 23 June, officials reported that they found a white Toyota four-door car with Myanmar license plates, driven by 31-year-old Mr. Mong, a Myanmar national, entering the Mae Sai border checkpoint to cross into Tachileik province. Upon searching the vehicle, they found a box of dried fish strips containing seventeen bundles of 1,000-baht notes, each bundle worth 1 million baht, totaling 17 million baht; a potato chip box containing six bundles of 1,000-baht notes, each also worth 1 million baht; plus another 23 individual 1,000-baht notes, amounting altogether to 6,023,000 baht. The two boxes contained a total of 23,023,000 baht.
Authorities initially seized all the cash as evidence on charges of attempting to smuggle Thai currency out of the kingdom without customs clearance, violating Section 242 in conjunction with Section 252 of the Customs Act B.E. 2560 (2017), Section 80 of the Criminal Code, and Sections 8 and 8 bis of the Exchange Control Act B.E. 2485 (1942). They conducted interrogation and record-taking of the driver, then coordinated with security agencies to investigate the ownership of the money and any criminal networks involved, to pursue those responsible according to the law.