SONGKLA, Oct 6 — Thai police arrested a Malaysian man at the Sadao border inspection centre and seized 176kg of ganja worth 4.4 million baht (RM550,000) in the black market, early today.

The drug was found hidden in the van driven by the 28-year-old man, who was accompanied by a 32-year-old local woman, when the vehicle was stopped for inspection at the centre at 7am local time.

"The man admitted to have received RM500 from his fellow countryman to bring the drug to Malaysia using the vehicle,” Sadao assistant police chief Lt Col Kittipat Runruai told reporters here.

Both the man and the woman from Nakorn Si Thammarat province are now being held at the Sadao police station for further investigation. — Bernama