Britons arrested for dealing drugs

KATHU: Two British men and four Thais have been arrested and charged with dealing ya bah (methamphetamines) after a series of “kiss-and-tell” raids on Monday. The charges carry the death penalty – an unlikely but theoretically possible punishment. Information obtained in the first raid led to a second raid, then a third raid. The Britons – named by police as James Harry Huish, 21, and Ross Sale, 21 – were held in the first of the day’s raids between 7 am and 8 am after informers accused them of dealing in drugs in Patong. Early yesterday, Pol Capt Sanakorn Manmuang, of Kathu Police Station, led a team that included undercover police who claimed they bought ya bah from the Englishmen. Police said they later confiscated 1,101 baht in cash, two blocks of marijuana and 93 ya bah pills from a building in Patong. In making the arrests, police were told of two more suspects. At noon, Capt Sanakorn and his men raided a house in Jomthong Thani Village in Phuket Town, arresting Payon Thonglim, 38, and his girlfriend, Thanaporn Junkaew, 28, and seizing 435 ya bah pills, 38,101 baht in cash, bank account books showing a total balance of 337,900 baht, and other property believed to have been illegally obtained. As a result of information they recieved in that raid, Capt Sanakorn and his men traveled to Phang Nga and raided a house in Kok Kloy, arresting Samart Chumjan, 28, and his girlfriend Wanna Sae-Tan, 21. They confiscated 285 ya bah pills and 48,500 baht in cash. Capt Sanakorn said later, “We will not release the suspects on bail because of the seriousness of these cases.” Because the drugs involved amount to more than 100 grams in each case, the death penalty comes into play although a jail term is more likely.