Nepal ex-prince arrested for drugs in Thailand

– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community

PHUKET: Former Nepalese crown prince Paras Shah has been arrested on drugs charges in Thailand for a second time and could face up to five years in prison, police said Wednesday.

Shah was arrested in Phuket in October 2012 after Cherng Talay Police officers found him in possession of 3.4 grams of a substance they believed to be marijuana (see Phuket Gazette story here)

The former crown prince this time was detained with about 13 grams of marijuana at a hotel in Bangkok, according to an officer at Thonglor police station who did not want to be named.

“He borrowed a flash drive from hotel security and when the security guard entered his room to get his flash drive back he saw marijuana on the counter so he told police,” the officer told AFP.

He said Shah, who is visiting Thailand on a tourist visa, had admitted illegal drug possession and was remanded in custody.

In 2012, following his arrest in Phuket, Shah was detained again later the same year for smashing property at a luxury apartment in Bangkok.

In February 2013 Shah was admitted to intensive care in Thailand after suffering a heart attack.

Shah became heir to the throne in 2001 after his cousin Crown Prince Dipendra killed nine members of his family including the king and queen in a drink-and-drugs-fuelled rampage, before apparently turning his gun on himself.

Nepal abolished its monarchy in 2008.

The Nepalese embassy in Bangkok said it had been notified of Shah’s latest arrest.

— Phuket Gazette Editors