Suspect claims to have been given digital currency bills.
PUBLISHED: 29 Jun 2024 at 13: 06
In the Prachuap Khiri Khan state of Hua Hin, a Russian man was detained and his place was seized with illegal drugs.
On Saturday, Office of the Narcotics Control Board ( ONCB) secretary-general Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboon announced the arrest following the seizure of a parcel containing 840 grammes of mephedrone on June 24. He did not make the suspect’s label public.
Customs officers discovered that the feared package from Poland contained light colored powder tablets. The material was sent to the ONCB for lab tests, which confirmed it to be mephedrone, a Category 1 medicine. Mephedrone stimulates the nervous system and produces psychedelic effects similar to those of methylenedioxymethamphetamine ( MDMA ), also known as ecstasy.
Mephedrone had been identified by the ONCB five years ago, according to Pol Lt Gen Panurat, and it may have been used as an ingredient in a chemical stimulant called bath salts.
The Russian gentleman was apprehended after an extensive research led to his arrest when he arrived to pick up the package on Friday.
Police found a large number of different drugs in his tambon Thab Tai place after conducting a search. They included 14 grammes of methamphetamine, 290 grammes of MDMA, 149 ecstasy pills, 67 lysergic acid diethylamide ( LSD ) stamps, 506 grammes of cocaine, 609 grammes of ketamine and 300 grammes of mephedrone.
The suspect was allegedly concerned for picking up packages containing illegal drugs that had been sent from worldwide, according to authorities. They were kept in his place before being transported to different locations at the alleged mastermind behind the smuggling operation’s instructions.
The suspect claimed to have received payment in digital currencies.
New types of drugs have been smuggled into Thailand, according to Pol Lt Gen Panurat, via packages from the US and Europe. He continued that the first candies brought into the country in 2021, which were first discovered in Bangkok and Chon Buri, were those that were combined with drugs and “happy liquid,” which is an illegal drug cocktail.
A piece sent from Poland contains capsule filled with mephedrone, a Category 1 medication.