Thai Customs Intercept 700 Tonnes of Hazardous Waste from Morocco

Joint operation with specialist agencies uncovers containers of contaminated 'zinc concentrate' containing dangerous heavy metals

 

Thai customs officials have seized more than 700 tonnes of hazardous waste from Morocco in a major operation that highlights the country's ongoing battle against illegal toxic imports.

 

The contaminated material, labelled as "zinc concentrate" but found to contain high levels of lead and cadmium, was intercepted at Bangkok Port following a joint investigation by Thai Customs, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Department of Industrial Works (DIW).

 

Authorities announced the seizure on Tuesday and vowed to repatriate the waste whilst strengthening measures to prevent similar illegal shipments entering Thailand.

 

The investigation focused on 36 shipping containers with a combined weight of 736,425 kilograms that had been sitting at the port. Customs documents described the contents simply as "zinc concentrate".

 

However, analysis using X-ray fluorescence equipment revealed the brown powder contained zinc at 32.2% and iron at 13.5%, alongside dangerous heavy metal contaminants including lead at 1.24%, cadmium at 890 parts per million and antimony at 540 parts per million.

 

These contamination levels classify the substance as hazardous waste under the Basel Convention, the international agreement designed to prevent the transfer of dangerous waste from developed to developing nations.
  



 

Theeraj Athanavanich, Director-General of the Customs Department, said the case represented a clear violation of Thailand's Hazardous Substances Act and constituted a direct breach of the Basel Convention.

 


"This operation underscores the government's firm policy on preventing and cracking down on the import of hazardous waste, thereby safeguarding both the environment and the public," Theeraj stated.


 

The seizure comes amid a surge in arrests related to illegal waste imports. In the current fiscal year, which runs from October 2024 to June 2025, customs officials have made 37 arrests involving electronic waste totalling 505,073 kilograms.

  



 

Officials also recorded 13 arrests for plastic scrap weighing 445,122 kilograms and two arrests for zinc oxide totalling 499,649 kilograms.

 

The Customs Department has pledged to enhance cooperation with relevant agencies and maintain stringent scrutiny of all imported goods to prevent dangerous substances entering the country.

 

Thailand's crackdown on illegal waste imports reflects growing international concern about wealthy nations exporting hazardous materials to developing countries, often mislabelled to avoid detection.

(2025/06/10-00:00)