Inside depot where Border Force officers thwart international drug smugglers

The bright packaging, with its pictures of cute cartoon characters, suggests snack food is inside. But after Border Force staff cut it open, they confirm the contents are in fact a large shrink-wrapped bag of cannabis.

The package, which had been in a box that was put through a scanner, is the latest consignment of the drug sent in the post from Thailand to be discovered at a depot near Heathrow Airport. Officials here have seized thousands of shipments of cannabis in recent months.

In total, 15 tons of the drug sent from Thailand were found at the postal depot in the last three months of 2024. Staff were so concerned about the weight of the hauls, which filled 250 metal cages able to hold about 40 parcels each, they feared the first floor the items were kept on might be at risk of collapse.

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The seized drugs had a value of hundreds of millions of pounds to British gangs who have moved into Thailand since cannabis laws were relaxed there three years ago. Speaking at the depot, where the strong smell of cannabis fills the air, Director General for Border Force, Phil Douglas, said: “There’s no doubt there is organised crime involvement in this because of the amount of cannabis that we’re seeing and the money that’s involved in it.

“A kilo of high-grade cannabis in Thailand will cost about £100 and it’s legal. That kilo is worth £10,000 in the UK, so you can see where the incentive comes from.”

The was invited into the depot, which we have agreed not to name, this week, alongside a delegation of Thai government officials being given a tour alongside the UK’s Migration and Citizenship Minister Seema Malhotra.

A successful new partnership by the two countries has led to a 90% reduction in cannabis arriving via post here from Thailand in the first three months of this year, as customs officials in Bangkok are now stopping much of it getting through.

Between October last year and this March, they seized over nine tons of cannabis in more than 800 smuggling cases - a 400% rise on the previous year. But considerable amounts, usually hidden in concealments of between 2lb and 4lb, are still getting here hidden in professionally manufactured packaging made to look like food items.

Crooks have even attempted to hide the drug in packages wrapped in birthday paper in the hope border guards will not rip them open.

Mr Douglas said: “It ranges from really blatant, shrink-wrapping the cannabis and just packing it into a box and sending the box through the post, to people putting it in cookie packets and sending multiple cookie packets to an addressee in the UK.

“It’s coming from all over [Thailand], but thankfully everything is routed through Bangkok when it comes here, so our Thai colleagues have been able to help us a great deal.”

Thailand legalised cannabis, but smuggling it is still punishable by 10 years’ jail. Officials, led by Director General of Thai Customs Theeraj Athanavanich, flew from Bangkok for a two-day working visit to Britain, before being shown around the postal depot.

While there they were shown an x-ray machine, which features AI , and shown packages of cannabis being opened. They were also shown piles of evidence bags full of packages of cannabis in a store room.

Around one in four of the cannabis finds are seized by police as evidence and lead to criminal investigations. The rest is destroyed.

The link-up comes after a separate UK-Thai collaboration, which also included the National Crime Agency and was codenamed Operation Chaophraya. The crackdown, which was set up in July last year in a bid to target drug mules heading to the UK from Thailand, led to the arrests of 51 Brits and the seizure of two tonnes of cannabis worth millions.

Speaking about Operation Chaophraya, Mr Douglas told us: “The vast majority of people that we stopped who had cannabis were British. They tended to have a suitcase packed full of cannabis.

“They’re using all sorts of routes, which is why international co-operation with our partners in other countries is always really important. A lot of routes are coming via the Middle East and via India.”

Speaking about how the ruthless gangs operate, he said: “Some people are coerced into doing it by organised crime groups, some people are agents of the organised crime groups themselves and others are chancers and lone actors.”

Asked how violent they are and if their criminal exploits go beyond smuggling cannabis, he added: “We know that there are British organised crime groups in Thailand - they are not there on holiday.

"In my experience organised crime groups are keen to diversify, so they won’t just involve themselves in cannabis. They’ll also involve themselves in the smuggling of other drugs as well.”

During their visit, Thai officials also made separate visits to Heathrow Airport and to meet National Crime Agency officers. Migration and Citizenship Minister Seema Malhotra was impressed by the work they witnessed at the postal depot.

She said: “This intervention has been hugely impressive. It has resulted in hundreds of millions of pounds worth of cannabis being stopped at the border before it is able to reach our streets and our communities.

“It’s hugely significant because what we’re able to do when we are intervening is to also identify those who are sending the cannabis and those who are receiving the cannabis.

“This is not just small recreational use that is being stopped, this is organised criminal gangs that are using this to create damage and harm in our communities.”

The minister, who has been MP for Feltham and Heston since 2011, is backing the government’s Plan for Change, Safer Streets mission which is aiming to stop illegal drugs entering the country.

In the year ending March 2024, Border Force and the police seized over 119 tonnes of illegal drugs, with a street value of £3billion. The figure marked a 52% increase from the previous year and is the highest number since records began.

She added: “We recognise the harm that is being done in our communities. This is about making sure we secure our borders, a vital part of our plan for change. We want to send a very strong message through the work that we’re now doing with the police as well, that those who are seeking to import cannabis, to do harm in our communities, if they are caught, they will face jail.”

Alex Murray, the National Crime Agency’s director of threat leadership, said: “The NCA continues to work with partners at home and abroad to target high-risk routes, seize shipments of drugs and disrupt the OCGs involved, denying them profit.

“We have been working well with the Thai authorities who are keen to intervene. Couriers should think very carefully about agreeing to smuggle cannabis.

"There are life-changing consequences. Crime groups can be very persuasive, but the risk of getting caught is very high and simply not worth it.”