Thai Customs Arrest Two Foreign Passengers with $15.5 Million Cash

Thai customs officials made two arrests at Suvarnabhumi Airport on September 30, 2026, after discovering US dollar banknotes worth over 56 million baht in the luggage of two foreign passengers.

The passengers had arrived from Jakarta, Indonesia. According to Customs Director Santanee Phairattanakorn, officers from the passenger customs office searched their luggage and found the large sum of cash.

The arrest is allegedly linked to exchange-control and customs violations under Thailand's Finance Ministry Notification on Exchange Control (No. 6) and a 2016 ministerial regulation governing the movement of Thai currency and foreign currency into or out of the country.