4 Hong Kong men arrested at Bangkok airport for heroin smuggling

Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) officers arrested four men from Hong Kong at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok on Sunday for attempting to smuggle 14 kilogrammes of heroin from Thailand to Hong Kong.

ONCB Secretary Phanurat Lakboon reported the details of the arrest in a press conference yesterday, June 23. Phanurat explained that the ONCB received information from the Hong Kong police that a major drug dealer, Leung Wai Kit, planned to travel from Thailand to Hong Kong with a gang member, Chun He Chaw, and the drugs.

Accordingly, the ONCB urged the Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) to closely monitor the arrival of the two Hong Kong men. Leung and Chun arrived at Suvarnabhumi Airport at approximately 7pm on June 23, and officers suspected that the drug was hidden in their luggage.

Two other Hong Kong men arrived before Leung and Chun and waited for them at the airport to facilitate the drug smuggling.

Officers requested to search Leung and Chun’s luggage, leading to the discovery of 40 bars of heroin, weighing approximately 14 kilogrammes. Leung and Chun identified the two other Hong Kong men waiting for them at the airport, leading to their arrest on the same day.

The four Hong Kong men were charged under Section 15 of the Narcotics Act: exporting category 1 drug (heroin) out of the kingdom. The penalty is life imprisonment and a fine of 1 to 5 million baht.

Phanurat emphasised that the successful arrest came from the cooperation with Hong Kong police in accordance with Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s policy, which encouraged Thai authorities to work closely with foreign authorities to end transnational drug smuggling.

According to Phanurat, drugs were being smuggled through Thailand via international parcel transport, air transport, and ship transport, so the AITF and Seaport Interdiction Task Force (SITF) were set up specifically to stop international drug smuggling.

In a related report, another Hong Kong man was previously arrested in Bangkok during the Songkran Festival in April for possession of ketamine and happy water. He reportedly distributed these drugs to partygoers at the S2O Songkran Music Festival 2024 in the Ratchada area.