Pakistani man caught smuggling 80,000 pills into Thailand

A Pakistani man was arrested at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport on Friday after he attempted to smuggle a suitcase brimming with drugs from Pakistan into the Kingdom of Thailand.

Airport security flagged down a suspicious suitcase from Karachi, Pakistan, found to contain a plethora of Type 2 and Type 4 psychotropic substances.

In total, police at the airport seized 79,200 pills including…

• 4,200 tablets of Methylphenidate Hydrochloride (Type 2 psychotropic substance)
• 5,200 tablets of Zolpidem (Type 2 psychotropic substance)
• 5,200 tablets of Alprazolam (Type 2 psychotropic substance)
• 23,800 tablets of Zolpidem Tartrate (Type 2 psychotropic substance)
• 40,800 tablets of Diazepam (Type 4 psychotropic substance)

Police at Suvarnabhumi Airport arrested 57 year old Ansari Anwar under suspicion of smuggling Type 2 and Type 4 psychotropic substances into the kingdom of Thailand without permission.

In Thailand, Type 2 psychotropic substances are medicinal drugs with a high potential for misuse that can be dangerous when consumed recreationally. Such drugs may only be used under doctor’s orders.

Type 4 psychotropic substances are drugs with medicinal benefits that are at low risk of being misused, but still must be prescribed, such as Diazepam.

The punishment for manufacturing, importing, exporting, selling or possessing Type 2 psychotropic substances without permission is punishable by one to 15 years imprisonment, a fine of up to 100,000 to 1,500,000 baht or both.

Manufacturing, importing, exporting, selling or possessing Type 4 psychotropic substances without permission is punishable by imprisonment of up to five years and a fine not exceeding 500,000 baht.

Travellers who take psychotropic drugs medicinally and need to bring them into Thailand must obtain a permit issued by the Food and Drug Administration before flying to Thailand. The quantity must not exceed 30 days’ worth.

Bringing psychotropic drugs into Thailand without a permit or more than 30 days’ worth is illegal.

Secretary-General of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Wichai Chaimongkol said that most of these types of illegal drugs come from South Asia, which he says is the region’s largest source of chemicals and active substances.

Between 2018-22, ONCB police officers arrested eight transnational drug traffickers smuggling a collective 31.22 kilogrammes of ketamine, 2.4 kilogrammes of cocaine, 1.1 kilogrammes of heroin, and 6.5 kilogrammes of “Ice” (methamphetamine) from South Asia into Thailand.