Two busts in Narathiwat yielded over 38 million baht worth of drugs

Narathiwat Police arrested two major drug dealers and seized a substantial haul of methamphetamine pills, crystal methamphetamine, and assets amounting to upwards of 38 million baht.

A press conference was held at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Narathiwat to reveal the details of the operation. The event was attended by the Governor of Narathiwat, Tra Koon Thotharam. The two arrested individuals were identified as 36 year old Azri Jeni from Pattani, and 52 year old Mariya Kuji from Narathiwat.

Azri was apprehended in Yi-ngo district, Narathiwat, with a large quantity of crystal methamphetamine weighing 176 kilogrammes. Meanwhile, Mariya was caught in Su-ngai Kolok District, Narathiwat, with 338,120 methamphetamine pills and 1 kilogramme of crystal methamphetamine. The combined value of the seized drugs is approximately 39.4 million baht, potentially rising to 118 million baht if exported.

Additional assets seized during the operation included one .357 calibre handgun with 17 rounds, one .38 calibre handgun, one blank gun, one shotgun with three rounds, four mobile phones, 234,320 baht in cash, one land title deed, five pieces of gold jewellery, one bus, and two motorcycles.

Mai Tree Santayakul explained that the operation was initiated following a tip-off received by police on June 24, indicating that a substantial amount of crystal methamphetamine was being smuggled into the area via a bus.

Officers set up a checkpoint at the Laharn Subdistrict Protection Unit in Yi-ngo. Upon inspecting the bus, they discovered 175 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine concealed in seven cardboard boxes in the luggage compartment. Azri, who was driving the bus, confessed to transporting the drugs from Bangkok to Narathiwat.

Meanwhile, the arrest of Mariya was the result of an extended investigation into one of 44 drug networks in Narathiwat. Police noted that Mariya had taken over the drug trafficking operations from her husband, who was previously arrested on similar charges.

A source within the anti-narcotics team revealed that Narathiwat serves as a transit point for various drugs, particularly methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine. Drug networks exploit natural border crossings to smuggle drugs into Malaysia, with the ultimate destination being other countries via maritime routes.

The source added that the value of drugs increases threefold once they pass through Thailand, providing a strong incentive for traffickers to use Narathiwat as a transit point, reported KhaoSod.