Thailand’s ONCB busts major Thai-Malaysian drug network
Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) has successfully dismantled a transnational drug trafficking operation involving Thai and Malaysian nationals. The operation, carried out in Songkhla, a southern province, led to the arrest of two Thai suspects and the seizure of 261 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine (ice).
Prin Mekanandha, the ONCB’s Director of Narcotics Law Enforcement, confirmed the operation took place on April 24 and was the result of collaboration between Thai authorities and international agencies. The goal was to disrupt a drug trafficking network operating between southern Thailand and Malaysia.
During a press conference on April 29, Prin revealed that Thai agencies had been tracking the network for over a month, working closely with Malaysian law enforcement.
Investigations indicated that the drugs were temporarily stored in Songkhla before being transported to Narathiwat in southern Thailand. From there, they were intended to be smuggled across the border into Malaysia for distribution to other countries. Authorities from both nations suspect the drugs originated from the Golden Triangle.
The two Thai suspects arrested admitted they were hired to transport the drugs. They also confessed to having previously smuggled one million methamphetamine pills across the Malaysian border, for which they were paid 120,000 baht.
Authorities have reportedly identified key figures within the drug network. The investigation is still ongoing, with plans to seize assets to fully dismantle the operation, reported The Nation.
In similar news, yesterday, April 30th, the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) intercepted over six million methamphetamine pills in Hpa-An province, Karen State, Myanmar, near the Thai border opposite Mae Sariang district, Mae Hong Son, Thailand, uncovering a major ongoing drug smuggling operation.
Two suspects were apprehended during the seizure. According to a KNLA source, the 7th Brigade of the Karen National Union (KNU) intercepted a suspicious motorboat on the Moei River within their operational area around April 27.
The drugs were being smuggled from the Salween River, with their destination being southern Mae Sariang, Thailand, across the border from Myanmar.
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