Border cop accused of drug, weapon offences transferred to non-job

The police chief of Narathiwat province has been reportedly transferred to an inactive position at Royal Thai Police (RTP) Headquarters, pending a disciplinary probe into his alleged connections to drug networks operating in the deep south and Malaysia.

Pol Maj-General Waesamae Salae is under suspicion of aiding suspects in drug and weapons cases, a news source said on Wednesday.

Narathiwat is one of the southern provinces of Thailand that borders the Malaysian state of Kelantan and Perak.

An order by National Police chief Pol General Damrongsak Kittiprapas on Wednesday instructed Waesamae to drop all his current duties. He has been stationed at the RTP’s operations centre in Bangkok until further notice, “ to maintain the orderly and efficient operation of the police force.”

The source speculated that Waesamae was transferred to prepare for an investigation after Atchariya Ruangrattanapong, chairman of the Crime Victims Assistance Club accused of blasphemy, filed a complaint with the National Police chief.

Atchariya claims Waesamae had issued certificates allowing suspects to pass security checkpoints without undergoing screening. He presented evidence indicating Waesamae’s involvement with drug networks.

Some evidence purportedly showed how members of gangs involved in trafficking narcotics and weapons were under Waesamae’s command. The accused officer reportedly volunteered to supervise their cases in an attempt to help them escape justice.

Atchariya also claims to have a recording of a conversation involving Waesamae, a drug dealer and a former Malaysian police officer who sold crystal meth and abducted a Malaysian businessman in Laos.