Bangkok, 25 July 2019 – Grab, the leading everyday super app in Southeast Asia, has collaborated with the Royal Thai Police in organizing a training session titled “Outsmart Tricksters, Avoid Contrabands 4.0” for more than 200 GrabBike driver-partners. The session which was conducted by Pol. Lt. Col. Neti Wongkularb, Superintendent of the Sub-Division 5 under Crime Suppression Division, Central Investigation Bureau, Royal Thai Police, aimed at enhancing the driver-partners’ understanding of the relevant laws and regulations governing courier services and training them to be on high alert for suspicious parcels which may contain narcotics and contraband goods. Besides assisting as the ‘eyes and ears’ of the police in the crackdown against illegal transport of drugs and contraband through courier services, driver-partners learnt to protect themselves from being inadvertently made use of by smuggling syndicates to traffic drugs and contraband.

Pol. Lt. Col. Neti Wongkularb, Superintendent of the Sub-Division 5 under Crime Suppression Division, Central Investigation Bureau, Royal Thai Police, said: “Nowadays, there has been an increase in the smuggling of contraband and illicit drug trafficking through courier services. The Royal Thai Police has therefore worked with concerned parties, from both the public and private sectors, to introduce urgent preventive measures for illegal parcel delivery. Apart from warning courier firms to be more stringent in monitoring parcels, the Royal Thai police realizes the importance of providing proper knowledge and training for private companies and their courier partners to be on alert for illegal parcels. They should be trained to inspect parcels right from the pickup process, observe the packaging and learn how to react when noticing anything unusual. Today’s training session for GrabBike driver-partners is considered an exemplary collaboration between a private firm and the public sector for more effective prevention of drug and contraband trafficking.”

Tarin Thaniyavarn, Country Head of Grab Thailand, commented: “As an everyday super app that serves consumers’ daily needs, our top priority is to ensure a safe and secure experience for everyone using Grab’s services. Besides investing in safety tech features to protect our passengers and driver-partners for every ride, we have also expanded our safety-centric ethos to all other everyday services that Grab provides, including our on-demand parcel and courier delivery service, GrabExpress. We share the same goal as the Royal Thai Police, and are serious about tackling the problem of illegal drug and contraband trafficking through courier services together. Today’s collaboration with the Royal Thai Police is especially meaningful for our GrabBike driver-partners, as they do not wish to become unwitting conduits for the transport of illegal drugs and contraband as well. We will continue to set the bar for the highest safety standards in Thailand, and step up our preventive measures to support the police in advocating a safer everyday for all Thais.”

The “Outsmart Tricksters, Avoid Contrabands 4.0” training is part of Grab’s #SaferEveryday commitment to create a safer Southeast Asia and bring preventable incidents on its platform down to zero. Grab has been working closely with governments and law enforcement authorities across the region to leverage Grab’s extensive driver-partner network to help in the government’s crackdown against crimes and trafficking.