Bangkok police arrest 6 Vietnamese in mask hoarding sting

Immigration police yesterday arrested 6 Vietnamese nationals in a sting operation, for allegedly hoarding hand sanitiser and facemasks. The items are highly prized due to the current Covid-19 coronavirus situation. They were arrested at a house in Bangkok’s Suan Luang district.

Police reportedly found 142,500 face masks and 12,000 bottles of hand gels, 13 barrels of alcohol, three gel making machines, two pistols, and a small amount of methamphetamine and MDMA more commonly known as “ectstasy.”

“We organised a sting to buy a carton of face masks from the suspects at 32,500, or 15 baht per piece, and arrested them in Pattanakarn Soi 29.”

“We investigated their place of operation at house No 141/437 in the same soi. The house was modified to be a travel agency office registered under the name An An Bangkok Travel Company,” Sompong said.

The suspects included two women… 39 year old Tran Tui An and 34 year old Nguyen Ti Hwian, and four men… Ho Tai Duon, aged 35, 35 year old Nguyen Van Hung, 34 year old Huong Sian Sung, and Nguyen Dui Nam, aged 32.

Tran Tui An, the listed owner of the company, told the police she had opened a tour guide company about 7-8 months ago but business was down due to decreasing tourist numbers, so she contacted her friend in Vietnam to import face masks and sanitiser gels to sell in Thailand.

The suspects face several charges, including hoarding controlled goods, selling controlled products at inflated prices, possessing drugs, possessing firearms without licence, and working without a permit.

SOURCE: The Nation