2 Thai men arrested for sale of crystal meth found on beach
Police arrested two Thai men who gathered more than 100 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, which had washed up on Chanthaburi beaches, and sold it to drug users in the province.
In March of this year, locals in Chanthaburi and nearby provinces witnessed packs of crystal meth floating in the sea, with some of the drugs washing up on multiple beaches in the province. Many locals and beachgoers collected the drugs and handed them over to the police, while others kept them to sell.
As a result, Chanthaburi Provincial Police officers searched for the remaining drugs and identified two suspicious men living in the Klung and Laem Sing districts of the province.
Police raided the homes of the suspects yesterday, September 24, and arrested both men. The first suspect is 28 year old Keerati “Gun” Thahin. Officers found 159.58 grammes of crystal meth, 70 methamphetamine (Yaba) tablets, and a firearm in his possession.
The second suspect is 27 year old Phanom “Joke” Phumpuang. Police confiscated 733.33 grammes of crystal meth and a notebook containing a list of his clients as evidence.
Both suspects confessed to collecting several kilogrammes of washed-up crystal meth in March at Proet Island Beach. Instead of handing the drugs over to the police, they sold them to drug users in the province for 40,000 to 50,000 baht per 100 grammes.
Police inspected the drug packaging and found “T726” written on each pack, confirming that the drugs came from the same shipment.
Gun faces four charges, including:
- Section 43 of the Land Transport Act: Using drugs while driving. The penalty is imprisonment from six months to three years, a fine of 10,000 to 60,000 baht, or both.
- Section 162 of the Narcotics Act: Using a Category 1 drug. The penalty is imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
- Section 145 of the Narcotics Control Act: Possessing a Category 1 drug for sale. The penalty is imprisonment from two to 20 years and a fine of 200,000 to 2 million baht.
- Section 7 of the Act on Firearms, Ammunition, Explosives, Fireworks, and Imitation Firearms: Possessing a firearm without permission. The punishment is imprisonment for up to 10 years, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
Joke faces one charge under Section 145 for possessing a Category 1 drug for sale.
