Man arrested in possession of meth worth nearly B1mn

PHUKET: Police arrested a man in possession of nearly 1 million baht worth of ya bah (methamphetamine) pills in a sting operation in Phuket Town on Friday.

Phuket Provincial Police arrested Somboon Lewplodpai, 33, at about 3:30pm, after receiving a tip-off about him dealing drugs in the area.

“An undercover officer set up an appointment with Mr Somboon to meet at the entrance of Tesco Lotus. When we arrived, we spotted Mr Somboon and arrested him,” said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan.

“We found him in possession of 8,000 ya bah pills inside a plastic grocery bag.”

The pills are worth more than 800,000 baht, confirmed Lt Col Prawit.

“Mr Somboon confessed to selling the drugs. He told officers that he was to receive 50,000 baht if he sold all of the pills,” Col Prawit explained.

Mr Somboon faces a charge of possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell. He is now being held at Phuket Provincial Prison, said Col Prawit.

“We were able to get information about other drug dealers after questioning Mr Somboon. The investigation is ongoing,” he said.

— Kritsada Mueanhawong