Drug Gangs Exploit Social Media to Recruit Thai Air Crew as Couriers

Drug trafficking networks in Thailand are increasingly exploiting social media to recruit airline cabin crew as couriers for illicit substances. This trend came to light when a flight attendant for a regional budget carrier in Bangkok received a direct message on TikTok from an unknown account on June 18, asking about flights to Australia, willingness to carry items for hire, and rates. The 30-year-old attendant, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, stated she never replies to strangers and that such warnings are constant within the industry. The account, named "Powder is Powder" in Thai, has been linked to drug trafficking networks that create fake social media profiles to find individuals for cross-border drug transportation, according to Areepak Ngernbamroong, spokeswoman for the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB). She confirmed the account has been shut down and investigations indicate it used multiple aliases. Thai Airways International stated it has strict rules governing employee conduct and will cooperate with authorities. Trafficking networks procure drugs from neighboring countries with significant production facilities and conceal them in items like clothing, coffee, and vases for transit through Thailand, Thai authorities reported. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) noted in December that opium poppy cultivation in neighboring Myanmar surged to its highest level in a decade in 2025. Pol Maj Suriya Singhakamol, secretary-general of the ONCB, explained that war-torn Myanmar is the world's main known source of illicit opium, with declining production in Afghanistan driving more farmers into the illicit trade due to conflict and economic hardship. In Thailand, trafficking networks specifically target groups like flight attendants for overseas drug transport. He cited the case of the Thai Airways flight attendant arrested in Australia, who had initially posted in a social media group for people offering to carry items overseas for a fee. She then communicated with a Facebook user named "Rose Rose" and agreed on a fee of 8,800 baht. The heroin, concealed within the lining of the tote bags carried by the attendant, had an estimated street value of A$500,000 (11.5 million baht), according to the Australian Federal Police. Authorities also intercepted plans to send five more packages from Bangkok to Australia and Taiwan between June 30 and July 1, seizing 24.38 kilograms of heroin hidden in traditional goods, silk clothing, coffee sachets, and winter jackets. Thai agencies are coordinating with Australian and Taiwanese authorities. So far, Thai authorities have taken into custody a Thai man, Arthit (43), and his Lao wife, Thatsaphon (42), suspected of sending drug parcels from the border province of Loei to Bangkok. The arrested Thai Airways cabin attendant was identified as Meena (26).