Massive drug bust: Heroin seized in river smuggling operation

Local officers from Na Ngiew Police Station and border patrol police swooped down on Phukhao Thong village in Ban Mueang subdistrict, uncovering a labyrinthine web of drug smuggling. Nestled in the Sangkhom district of Nong Khai province, this clandestine operation bordered Laos.

Upon arrival, the officers stumbled upon four shadowy figures ferrying cardboard boxes into a nondescript house. Police Lieutenant General Sarayut Sanguanphokhai, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 4, revealed that officers found that the 20 cardboard boxes contained heroin.

The apprehended quartet, identified only as 54 year old Niyom, 39 year old Sarawut, 53 year old Prasit, and 48 year old Pratho, were swiftly placed under arrest, divulging crucial information during interrogation.

“During questioning, the suspects admitted there was more heroin hidden in a nearby rubber plantation.”

Following the suspects’ lead, officers scoured the nearby rubber plantation, unearthing a cache of nine additional cardboard boxes stashed in a makeshift shelter. The contents were nothing short of staggering – a whopping 1,404 kilogrammes of heroin, meticulously concealed from prying eyes, reported Bangkok Post.

The intricate network of crime unfolded further as the suspects revealed their modus operandi: Lao nationals ferrying the contraband via motorboat to the Mekong River bank at Phukhao Thong village, where the Thai operatives would then take charge, poised for the perilous journey ahead.

In related news, Taiwanese aviation police cracked down on an international drug cartel smuggling heroin which involved one Taiwanese and four Thai nationals. The cunning scheme involved smuggling a whopping 36.644 kilogrammes of heroin into Taiwan, with an eye-watering value of over US$3.1 million (approximately 113 million baht).

In other news, in a major drug bust, authorities in Bueng Kan Province apprehended three individuals, including a prominent subdistrict headman from Sakon Nakhon, for smuggling nearly 10 kilogrammes of heroin. The arrest took place at a border patrol police company in Bueng Kan, following a covert operation led by the local law enforcement and border patrol units.