British man arrested at Phuket Airport for possession of cocaine

Police arrested a British man at Phuket International Airport on May 2 after discovering cocaine hidden within his passport.

The arrest of the 29 year old British man, Jamie Louise Swain, was made at the immigration checkpoint of Phuket Airport at around 7pm on May 2. Swain arrived in Phuket on Etihad Airways flight EY 432.

Police Corporal Prawwadee Suphasit, an officer from the Immigration Division, discovered a plastic bag containing an unidentified white powder between the pages of Swain’s passport during a passport check.

DailyNews reported that Swain reacted with visible shock, swearing, and shaking. This prompted officers to conduct a drug test on the substance, which confirmed it was cocaine weighing approximately 0.42 grammes.

Swain was transferred to Sakhu Police Station for further legal proceedings. He faces charges under Section 146 of the Narcotics Control Act: importing and possessing a Category 2 drug. The penalty carries a potential sentence of one to ten years in prison and a fine of 100,000 to 1 million baht.

In a related report, Thai police previously arrested several British nationals in drug-related cases. A British man, 47 year old Nicholas James Hartas, was arrested in Koh Pha Ngan, an island in the southern province of Surat Thani in April. His arrest was made after the foreign man was found begging for money to buy drugs and using them in a public place.

Another British man, Stephen Mullady, was arrested in March in Phuket for the possession of cocaine, methamphetamine, and crystal meth.

In the same month, a British drug dealer, Andrew Brett, was arrested in Koh Tao in Surat Thani. He reportedly offered drugs to tourists, especially foreigners, who visited popular bars on the island.

A 44 year old British man, Peter Hull, was arrested in Koh Samui in Surat Thani for possession of cocaine and LSD.

Another arrest of a British man, 48 year old Charly Garcia, was made in the northern province of Chiang Mai. He was found carrying cocaine, ketamine, magic mushrooms, LSD, and MDMA.