Did some simple calculations form the news item below.
They got 614 kilograms in 648 (supposedly kilo) sticks of compressed marijuana they valued at 9 million Baht.
so B9,000,000 / 648 = B13,888.89 per 0.95 kg stick which presumably go to a dealer network
assuming that dealers are selling in units of money eg B1000, B500, and say B200
let's say that you bought B1000 worth from a dealer
anything less than 72 grams (2.539 ounces) is profit
let's say that you only get half an ounce for that so the dealer makes 2 ounces in profit I (another 4 B1000 sales)
the dealer would potentially make up to 55K Baht if all his deals were for 1000 but i would not be surprised if they sell in smaller sizes in which case there would be more profit
that's, say, $2000 profit per stick
sounds like so very little to risk your freedom for - so nobody is really making big money out of it
except whoever gets the B9 million ($275,000)
p
ps, very rough yes and lots of assumptions but something to start with
pps
Another news report here suggests that the 1 kg sticks are worth more like 8,000 baht - so down line dealers are making even less than i calculated above. Either that or my street price calculations are not very good. If anyone out there actually knows how much the street price is (and for what weight) i'd be interested to know.
Marijuana worth B9m seized
Police on Saturday seized 614 kilogrammes of marijuana with a street value of more than 9 million baht and arrested a 34-year-old man in Chumphon.
Officers manning a checkpoint on Phetkasem Road in Pathiu district of the southern province made the discovery when they stoped a suspicious-looking pickup truck at about 11.30 am on Saturday. They found 648 bricks of marijuana wrapped in black plastic bags inside fertiliser sacks in the rear of the pickup, Manager Onlinereported.
The marijuana originally came from Laos and was smuggled across the Mekong River in Nong Khai province, police said. The seized drugs were worth more than 9 million baht.
Driver Somchai Ketsri, 34, a native of Phichit province, confessed his involvement in the operation, the officers added.
Police said Mr Somchai told them that he had been hired by a man identified only as Bank, the son of a bottled drinking water producer in Nakhon Pathom, for 50,000 baht to deliver the drugs to a dealer in Songkhla. Mr Bank paid him 30,000 baht in advance and the rest was to be paid after the drugs were delivered.
Two other men, identified only as Somkhid and Bao, travelled ahead of Mr Somchai in another pickup. Their job was to alert him if they spotted any police checkpoints.
Police said the arrest of the suspect followed information from a police informant that a drug smuggling gang was about to smuggle marijuana from the Northeast into the South. The drugs were believed to be destined for tourist destinations in southern provinces.
Police are now hunting for other members of the gang.
