Arrested drug dealer says he got narcotics from police

Police arrested a drug dealer and four addicts yesterday in the central province of Rayong. The dealer, while being arrested, alleged that the Thai police were involved in drug distribution and claimed that he had received the drugs as a reward for acting as a secret agent for the police in the province.

The drug dealer and his four customers were arrested at a rental room in the Cheng Noen sub-district of Rayong yesterday.

Police reported that officers were conducting a patrol in the community when they noticed Jakkrit acting suspiciously and agitated. Upon further investigation, they searched his room and discovered 805 pills of Yaba (methamphetamine) and 142.5 grams of crystal meth.

The 43 year old admitted that the drugs were his and claimed that he had received them as a reward for working as a police informant, reporting on drug activity in the community. The officers were sceptical of this claim, stating that the quantity of drugs found was too large. An investigation into the matter has been launched and the findings will be reported to the provincial governor.

Rayong Provincial Police Office Superintendent Apichanan Wattanawarangkul stated that the police in the province frequently investigate and arrest drug dealers and addicts. Therefore, the dealer may know the identity of the anti-drug trafficking officers and falsely claim that a random officer provided them with the drugs to avoid arrest.

Apichanan emphasized that if the allegations made by the drug suspect are true, the police officer will be punished without exception.

This is not the first instance of a drug dealer claiming to have received drugs from the police as a reward. In October of last year, a drug dealer gave an interview to Channel 3’s news show Khao Sam Miti, in which he stated that he had worked as a police informant for 20 years and had been rewarded with seized drugs for successful drug busts.

The dealer even suggested that dealing with Thai police officers was easy if one had enough money, indicating that the drug problem in the country will likely persist.