25 kilograms of ketamine in tea bags wash up on eastern Thailand beach

A package containing more than 25 kilograms of ketamine washed up on a beach in Trat province on Thailand’s eastern coast yesterday. A 65 year old woman was out collecting rubbish on the beach when she found what appeared to be 25 bags of Chinese tea tied together washed up on the shore.

Upon closer inspection, the bags were filled with white powder. At first, the police suspected the drug was crystal methamphetamine, known as “ice”, which has washed up in large amounts on beaches in Trat before. When it was tested, it turned out to be ketamine.

The woman thought the package looked suspicious so she contacted Khlong Yai District Sheriff, who, with local police, soldiers and district mayor Surasak Intharaprasert went to inspect the package.

Like crystal methamphetamine, ketamine is flake-like in appearance. The inspection team suspected the 25 tea bags, each weighing a kilogram, were filled with crystal methamphetamine since a tonne of crystal methamphetamine washed up on beaches in Trat province two years ago, but tests revealed otherwise.

Ketamine is an anaesthetic drug used as a sedative in both veterinary and healthcare settings. It is listed as an essential medicine by the World Health Organisation. However, the drug is also used recreationally as a “party drug” for its dissociative effects. The drugs have been confiscated and police are investigating the source of the package, which is currently unknown.

SOURCE: ThaiRath | Thai PBS