Thai drug suspect’s Yaba buying claims to protect youth sparks online laughter

A Thai man, arrested on drug charges, sparked amusement online by his heroic claim that he only bought and used methamphetamine, also known as Yaba, solely to prevent teenagers from accessing them.

An officer from the Narcotics Prevention and Suppression Centre in the northern province of Phitsanulok shared a video of the drug suspect, whose identity was not revealed, on his TikTok account, @user1888598838822.

The video showed the officer engaging in a conversation with the drug suspect. During the talk, the suspect boasted about his heroic action and attempted to justify his drug buying and taking.

Officer: “Is Yaba expensive?”
Suspect: “No, not at all. Very cheap. Too cheap.”
Officer: “Alright, too cheap. But you said you don’t like it, so why buy it?”
Suspect: “Without me, teenagers would have easy access.”
Officer: “Ah, ok. So, you destroy it?”
Suspect: “Yes. I buy it and burn it to protect the youth.”
Officer: “Helping the government, right?”
Suspect: “Yeah, something like that.”

The video went viral on Thai TikTok and was widely shared by media outlets. Netizens found the exchange humorous, speculating that the suspect was still under the influence of the drug. The original video garnered over a million views before the account was removed.

Channel 3 also shared the video, and it garnered nearly 500 comments from Netizens who, tongue-in-cheek, praised the druggie’s heroic gesture.

“Save the youth!”

“What a good man! Such a great sacrifice for the younger generation!”

“Hero!”

“Position of assistant to public health ministry must go to no one else but you!”

“Reasonable.”

“Should I say thank you…”

“Good Samaritan!”

Officers did not disclose the punishment the uncaped superhero would face. Hopefully, his heroic act will contribute to a reduction in his sentence.

In related news, a couple of drug peddlers, masquerading as farm rat catchers, were apprehended in Khon Kaen over the weekend with a cache of over 300,000 speed pills. The couple, identified as 41 year old Jinda Thaochalee and his 36 year old wife Rungthip Sakunphon, were nabbed in Ban Fang district and tried to bribe the police with 500,000 baht for their release.