American tourist found with magic mushrooms at police checkpoint in Kamala

An American tourist has been arrested for the possession of magic mushrooms in Kamala, Patong, Phuket.

At a traffic checkpoint, officers stopped a Honda Click motorcycle at around 5.30pm on January 23, with 27 year old Egyptian Khaled Mohamed Abobakr and an American woman named Karima Salah Mohamed onboard. A shoulder bag was searched and dried buffalo dung mushrooms were found sealed in a clear plastic bag. Listed as a Category 5 narcotic, the mushrooms weighed 2.8 grammes.

The American woman was arrested as well as one other individual for possession of crystal meth and two others for the sale of kratom juice, reported Phuket News.

In related news, Patong, Phuket, witnessed a crackdown by local law enforcement against the illicit trade of hallucinogenic fungi, commonly known as magic mushrooms. This campaign was further intensified with the recent apprehension of two individuals on Bangla Road.

The duo was detained in the small hours of November 8 at the popular Puff Puff Shop, as revealed in a police post on social media. The identities of the suspects, however, were not disclosed in the police’s online briefing.

Following the arrest, an assortment of items was seized, indicative of the illicit activity. The accused were subsequently escorted to the Patong Police Station, where they were charged. The charges levied against them include the joint sale and possession of a Category 5 narcotic without authorisation.

In other news, a team of scientists from the Center of Excellence for Microbial Diversity and Sustainable Utilisation at Chiang Mai University has unveiled two new species of mushrooms— Russula pseudomodesta and Russula sribuabanensis, in northern Thailand.

Led by Dr Nakarin Suwannarat, Dr Jaturong Khamla, Professor Emeritus Dr Saisamorn Lamyong, and Dr Soumitra Paloi, the researchers, in collaboration with Prof Dr Samantha C. Karunarathna from Qujing Normal University in China, delved into the unexplored realms of fungal wonders.