Police catch second big drug dealer

PHUKET TOWN: Kamol Ratakarn, 27, described by police as a major drug dealer whose trademark was a bronze-colored BMW, was arrested on Tuesday evening in possession of 350 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine). He was the second big dealer arrested this month. On May 8, police caught Seksan Tuambang with 200 tablets of the drug. Pol Capt Passakorn Sonthikul told the Gazette that on Tuesday his men received a report from an informant that a major dealer was in Phuket. The informant said that the dealer’s trademark was a bronze BMW. He also supplied the police with the dealer’s name, the license number of the car and the dealer’s phone number. Police posing as buyers called Kamol and arranged to make a “buy” in front of the Robinson Department Store in Phuket Town. At around 6 pm, after buying 50 pills of the drug from Kamol, the undercover officers identified themselves and arrested him. A subsequent search of Kamol’s house on Soi Surin 2, off Surin Rd, Phuket Town, turned up 300 more pills, hidden in the bedroom. Capt Passakorn said that Kamol, who is originally from Krabi Town, had told interrogators that had previously been a prawn farmer, but had turned to selling drugs when his prawn business went bad. Kamol is now in Phuket Provincial Prison awaiting trial on charges of possession with intent to sell.