The government continues its crackdown on illegal cigarettes at the southern border, seizing over 2.2 million cigarettes with estimated fines exceeding 100 million baht.
16 Aug 2026 GMT+7 Ms. Ploytale Lakshamisangchan, Deputy Spokesperson of the Prime Minister's Office, stated that the government prioritizes ongoing prevention and suppression of illegal goods, directing stricter investigations, surveillance, and crackdowns on smuggling and tax evasion. This includes proactive law enforcement under the orders of Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Anutin Charnvirakul, especially in the southern border provinces where illegal cigarette imports affect the economy, government revenue, and fair trade.
Following strict government policies, proactive suppression measures have been driven by integrated cooperation between security and administrative agencies in intelligence and operations to effectively intercept smuggling and illegal sales from origin to destination across 14 southern provinces. Officials arrested suspects with 117,820 packs of foreign cigarettes evading excise tax—about 2,289,000 cigarettes—with excise tax losses totaling 7,095,966 baht and estimated fines of 106,439,490 baht for possession with intent to sell untaxed goods. The suspects have been forwarded to investigators for legal proceedings.
“The government emphasizes advancing proactive suppression through genuine and continuous inter-agency cooperation to prevent smuggling networks from using southern border risk areas as transit routes and storage points. It will also enhance crackdown efforts to block illegal import and distribution networks from origin to destination, ensuring tax fairness, protecting the public from illicit goods, and safeguarding the state's interests fully.”