A MALAYSIAN man was arrested at a checkpoint in Chumphon province after 75kg of Ketamine worth over 70 million baht was found hidden in the trunk of the car he was driving but the suspect claims he was just hired to drive the vehicle back home and did not know this drug was hidden within, TV Channel 7 said today (Nov. 8),
The arrest of Mr. Teh Wei Yi, 25, is a result of strict prevention of drug smuggling along southern routes. Upon scanning and searching the black car with a Malaysian licence plate it was found that the drug was hidden in a false compartment in the truck.
However the suspect claims that he was hired by another Malaysian man to drive this vehicle from Bangkok to their home country for 5,000 ringgit (around 38,500 baht) and was unaware that an illegal substance was hidden in it.
He was charged with “distributing, by possession with intent to distribute, a Category 2 psychotropic substance (Ketamine) without a licence, which is an act of trade and contributes to the spread of the drug among the public.” He was then taken along with the seized drug to Narcotics Suppression Bureau 4 for legal proceedings.
Meanwhile police also raided seven locations in Pattaya and Phuket to apprehend members of a drug network, with the ring leader who is currently in jail, slapped with additional charges, Naewna newspaper said.
Arrested at an apartment in Pattaya was Ms. Ornjira, the girlfriend of Mr. Phakwat or “Joe Hoen Sai Thong” who heads this drug gang, while Mr. Phuwanat was nabbed at a condominium in Chonburi’s Si Racha district.
This followed Phuket Provincial Court issuing arrest warrants for five more suspects in this case after Phakwat and Mr. Jessada had been apprehended with 6.9kg of crystal methamphetamine and 200,000 methamphetamine pills that they were about to send to customers via a private courier. This then led to his girlfriend and another gang member being rounded up.
CAPTIONS:
Top – Pixelated image of the big lot of Ketamine seized and the suspect being questioned. Photo – TV Channel 7
Insert – Pattaya police arresting one of two drug suspects. Photo – Naewna
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