Hundreds of boxes of illegal ‘Texas’ cigarettes were seized at a road checkpoint in southern Thailand.

Police pulled over a sedan carrying 356 boxes of cigarettes when it passed through a checkpoint set up in Trat province on April 6 ahead of the country’s Songkran new year celebrations next week.

Cops found 3,560 packs of the green, red, and blue variants of the Texas brand as well as the flavoured Vibes brand.

Both cigarette brands are not currently registered for import into the country which means that the goods were all smuggled.

Veerapong Reechinda, 30, said he bought the cigarettes from a shop in the province hoping he could resell them at double the price.

He said: ‘I was planning to sell them to Thai and Cambodian workers in Huai Raeng Subdistrict and nearby areas. This brand is still cheaper than other cigarettes even if I sell them at double the price.’

The driver was arrested and questioned on suspicion of ‘assisting in the trade of prohibited goods without tax paid’.

Police Major General Saipetch Srisung said: ‘The checkpoint was mainly for the preparation for Songkran but we received information that there would be illegal transportation of goods in the area.

‘The driver admitted that he planned to sell the goods to Thai and Cambodian workers because these brands are popular.’