Cannabis lab fire erupts in Pattaya shop
Police suspect short circuit, shop manager blames roof leaks
A fire broke out at a cannabis shop in Pattaya yesterday afternoon, May 25, sparking panic among tourists and damaging a rooftop grow lab.
The blaze began around 4pm at a cannabis shop located on Soi 13/2 in central Pattaya. The fire originated on the fourth floor of a four-storey commercial building, where a cannabis cultivation lab was housed. Officials suspect the cause was an electrical short circuit.
Pattaya City Police, led by investigator Police Lieutenant Suthirapan Thapasi, quickly responded to the scene. Two fire engines were dispatched, and firefighters took about 30 minutes to bring the flames under control.
Thick smoke and a strong odour filled the area, disturbing passersby and alarming tourists nearby. No injuries were reported, but lab equipment on the top floor was destroyed.
The shop manager, 26 year old Pawarisa, told police she had been working there for less than two weeks and that the shop’s internal systems were still being set up. She added that recent heavy rainfall may have caused roof leaks, which could have led to the electrical malfunction.
The building’s layout includes a cannabis retail shop on the ground floor, a customer lounge on the second floor, and a lab on the upper floors. Police found signs of a small explosion near a power socket on the fourth floor.
Police have sealed off the building to allow forensic officers to carry out a full investigation. Damage is estimated in the hundreds of thousands of baht, though a complete assessment is still pending, reported Pattaya News.
In other cannabis related news, an ex-British air hostess has been busted in Sri Lanka over a massive cannabis haul, just days after another young Brit was arrested for a similar smuggling run from Thailand.
Sri Lankan officials estimate the stash is worth 460 million rupees (roughly £1.5 million) and described it as a “massive consignment.”
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