Remote-controlled crime: Thai police nab Frenchman for toy car cocaine delivery

Thai police detained a French national for attempting to send cocaine concealed in a remote control car to a friend in Cambodia. The package was intercepted by a shipping company during routine X-ray scans and reported to the police.

Today, May 29, senior police officials, including the Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau, along with relevant officers, announced the arrest of the Frenchman, identified as 39 year old Maxence, under an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court on April 23. Maxence faces charges of attempting to export a Category 2 narcotic (cocaine) without authorisation, an act considered trafficking and posing a risk of widespread distribution among the public.

The arrest took place in a residential area on Phatthanakan Road, Suan Luang district, Bangkok. The investigation began when the Narcotics Suppression Bureau received a tip-off from a shipping company employee. The employee, while X-raying parcels at the Rama 9 service centre, flagged an international package destined for Cambodia as suspicious. The 1-kilogramme package was addressed from Gregore in Bangkok to Jerome in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Upon inspection, the package contained a red remote control car, a remote, and a cardboard box for a charger (without the charger itself). Inside, officers discovered a white powdery substance tightly wrapped in plastic, weighing approximately 10 grammes, which tested positive for cocaine.

The police seized the substance as evidence and handed it over to the investigating team to track down the sender. Subsequent inquiries led to Maxence, who was found living with a Thai woman in a house in the Phatthanakan area. The police planned his arrest while he was about to leave the house for errands.

During interrogation, Maxence admitted that the package and the cocaine belonged to him. He confessed to purchasing the cocaine from an unidentified black man he met at a nightclub in Bangkok and claimed this was his first attempt to send it to a friend in Cambodia.

Shipment traced

Maxence believed the package had been intercepted by Thai police but did not expect them to trace it back to him, as he had used an alias for the shipment. He mentioned that if this attempt had been successful, he would have continued to send cocaine to his friend in small quantities. However, after the initial failure, he feared arrest and decided not to send any more.

“This was my first time sending the package, and I didn’t think the police would track me down.”