Kuwaiti man arrested in Phuket for crystal meth possession and overstay
Phuket arrest adds to string of foreign drug cases across Thailand
Police arrested a Kuwaiti man for possession of crystal meth and overstaying his visa in Patong, Phuket, on Monday, October 20.
Officers from Patong Police Station reported the arrest of the 36 year old Kuwaiti national, whose name has not been disclosed, via the Phuket Info Centre Facebook page yesterday, October 21. The arrest took place a day earlier at a hotel on Nanai Soi 8, in Kathu district.
During the arrest, officers found 0.74 grammes of crystal methamphetamine in the man’s possession. Further checks revealed that the man had overstayed his visa, though the length of the overstay was not specified in the police report.
The Kuwaiti man faces two charges under Thai law:
- Section 145 of the Narcotics Control Act: Possession of a Category 1 narcotic, which carries a penalty of imprisonment ranging from two to 20 years and a fine of between 200,000 and 2 million baht.
- Section 81 of the Immigration Act: Residing in the country after the expiry of a visa. The penalty includes up to two years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to 20,000 baht, or both.
The arrest is one of several recent cases involving foreign nationals and drug-related offences in Thailand. On October 18, police in Bangkok arrested a Nigerian man for supplying drugs to partygoers at a nightclub in the Ratchaprarop area. His Thai wife, allegedly involved in the operation, remains at large.
Last week, four Israeli soldiers were detained at an accommodation on Koh Pha Ngan, Surat Thani, for hosting a drug party. Police discovered 0.59 grammes of cocaine and 1.37 grammes of ecstasy during the raid.
In September, Bangkok police arrested a British man at a hotel in Sukhumvit following a tip-off about drug trafficking. Officers found one kilogramme of crystal meth concealed inside a pink suitcase.
In August, four Vietnamese nationals were apprehended at a rented house in Lat Phrao, Bangkok. The suspects had reportedly converted the residence into a drug production site, where police seized 514 ecstasy pills.
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