A South Korean national has been arrested after 0.5 grammes of crystal methamphetamine was found in his room.
The discovery came after authorities received a tip-off about the man’s alleged involvement in drug smuggling to South Korea, the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) said on Friday.
The Korea National Police earlier this month coordinated with the ONCB to investigate the 46-year-old man, identified as Chun Youn-bae, who had allegedly been smuggling crystal meth to South Korea in 2021-2022.
ONCB secretary-general Wichai Chaimongkhon said on Friday that the ONCB sought a warrant from Bangkok South Criminal Court on Thursday to search the suspect’s condominium in Soi Sukhumvit 21, where officials discovered 0.5 grammes of crystal meth, drug paraphernalia and plastic packaging bags hidden in his toilet.
Mr Wichai said the suspect faced charges, including possessing Type 1 narcotics without permission and overstaying his visa. He was taken to Lumpini police station for legal proceedings.
The suspect told police he had been in Thailand since 2006 for study purposes and had also run a tourist business for around five years, earning an income of around 50,000 baht.
The suspect claimed that he met a Thai woman on social media who offered to sell about 0.6 grammes of crystal meth per round that could be delivered by a motorcycle taxi driver or sent to the condo’s mailbox.
Despite the suspect refusing to provide further information about the Thai woman, Mr Wichai said that the ONCB had learnt the drug dealer’s identity and assumed Mr Chun may also have been a drug dealer, adding that the ONCB is gathering evidence to track down the remainder of the drug network members.
In a separate development, the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) arrested four members of a cross-border drug network along the Mekong River on Tuesday and confiscated 7 million meth pills.
Pol Maj Gen Thanarat Sonkla, commander of the Narcotics Suppression Division 2, said police acted on a tip-off to tighten border security in Nakhon Phanom and Sakon Nakhon.