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PARIS: At least eleven French nationals have been held in Thailand since the start of the summer after being arrested with several kilogrammes of cannabis in their luggage, a police source said on Tuesday.
According to accounts from relatives of some of the young people interviewed and the French daily Liberation, they might have been duped by traffickers to act as drug mules in exchange for free holidays in Thailand. Thailand is a major hub for illegal drug trafficking in southeast Asia.
In recent years, cannabis trafficking from Thailand to France has surged, particularly since the southeast Asian country decriminalised the drug in 2022, officials say.
“The situation of our fellow citizens is being closely monitored by the relevant departments of the foreign ministry in Paris, which are in contact with their families,” a diplomatic source said.
