Group known to target holiday areas
PUBLISHED: 21 Jan 2025 at 05 :16
Thirteen people were arrested in Bangkok’s Phra Khanong area over the weekend for selling illegal drugs to travelers along Sukhumvit Road.
The arrests are part of a crackdown on drug peddlers who operate in Bangkok’s inner-city areas, in particular, in the Nana neighbourhood that straddles Klong Toey and Watthana districts, according to Narcotics Suppression Bureau ( NSB ) commissioner Pol Lt Gen Santi Chaniramai on Monday.
Of the 13 suspects arrested over the weekend, 11 hailed from many countries in Africa, including Nigeria and Ivory Coast, while the remaining two offenders were Thai people.
The suspects, who were arrested at two separate areas in Phra Khanong city, were caught with 61 milligrams of methamphetamine in their hands. They have been charged with unlawful possession of a Type-2 opioid with intention to buy.
The party, according to the officers, is known to frequent streets in tourist areas, where they would inquire passers-by if they want to get some heroin or crystal meth.
In an unrelated growth, Pol Lt Gen Santi said the NSB managed to sheet a major drug trafficking try on Sunday.
After receiving tip-offs from regional informants, officials properly intercepted a huge haul of medications as they were being transported from Chiang Rai to the South.
The pull, which contained 478,000 meth tablets and 30 kilogrammes of morphine, was moved in a caravan of three vehicles.
When authorities stopped the cars for a test at a petrol station in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s Ron Phibun area, the suspects attempted to flee the picture.
Two managed to escape, while one man was taken into captivity, Pol Lt Gen Santi said.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board ( ONCB) arrested five people in connection with the smuggling of 1. 65 kilograms of diamond heroin worth at least 20 million ringgit.
The medicines were hidden in 33 cotton rolls found at a warehouse in Bangkok’s Rat Burana area.
ONCB secretary-general Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lukboon said the system behind the contraband test is using Thailand as a transport country and that the drugs are basically intended to be shipped to different countries in the region, including Australia, South Korea and Japan.