drug trafficking
- Crime News
Narcotics Control Board announce recent drug busts, heroin and cocaine sent by mail
In Thailand’s ongoing crackdown on transnational drug trafficking, police seized heroin hidden in a photo frame in a package destined for Australia, and in a separate case, seized cocaine hidden in mascara tubes from a package sent to Thailand from Costa Rica. In the first drug seizure, 470 grams of heroin were hidden in a photo frame in a package…
- Crime News
Thai police say they’ve gathered “strong evidence” on transnational drug trade
“Good news” will be reported soon on Thailand’s crackdown on transnational drug trade, at least that’s what police are saying today about the ramping up of the transnational drug rings and trafficking. Drug suppression operations have intensified over the past month with numerous drug seizures including several at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport where methamphetamine and heroin were found hidden in packages…
- Crime News
PM Prayut Chan-o-cha says drug suppression should to be a national priority
Following the numerous busts involving drugs en route to overseas, PM Prayut Chan-o-cha has declared that the suppression of illegal drugs should be an urgent national agenda item. The deputy government spokesperson Rachada Dhanadirek made the announcement of the prime minister’s behalf, saying Prayut called for government workers to support the efforts to crack down on drugs. The spokesperson says…
- Crime News
Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport task force cracks down on drug trafficking
Authorities at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport are cracking down on drug trafficking, specifically packages being mailed from Thailand to overseas, after major busts in Australia and South Korea last month involving drugs trafficked from Thailand. Over the weekend, the Narcotics Control Board announced that the airport’s task force found 580 grams of methamphetamine hidden in motorcycle parts in a package destined…
- World News
Large-scale methamphetamine production emerges in Cambodia during pandemic
During the pandemic, Cambodia has become a major base for the large-scale production of methamphetamine as drug traffickers workaround Covid-19 restrictions, according to the United Nations. Last year, during the pandemic, 170 tonnes of methamphetamine were seized by authorities in Asia, a 19% increase from the year prior, according to a report by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime.…
- Crime News
Police at Bangkok airport seize methamphetamine from parcel en route to Australia
Police at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport seized crystal methamphetamine that was hidden in an express mail parcel destined for Australia. The Airport Interdiction Task Force searched the EMS package addressed to Melbourne and found bags containing a total of around 750 grams of crystal methamphetamine hidden in 3 large motorcycle parts. Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin recently announced that the ministry is…
- Crime News
Justice Minister says Thailand is a major transit point in the illicit drug trade
Thailand is a major transit point in the transnational illicit drug trade, particularly crystal methamphetamine and heroin, with many routes destined for various countries, according to Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin. Due to the strict penalties for illegal drug production, Thailand is rarely used as a base to produce methamphetamine and heroin, the minister says. Most of the drugs are produced…
- Crime News
Justice Ministry working with foreign agencies to crackdown on drug trafficking
Following busts in Australia and South Korea involving large shipments of methamphetamine from Thailand, the Justice Ministry is working with foreign agencies to investigate transnational drug trafficking with routes in Thailand, Minister Somsak Thepsuthin announced. Last month, more than 300 kilograms of methamphetamine valued at 2.29 billion baht was seized from a Thai cargo ship at a port in Sydney. Australian…
- Crime News
Man arrested for allegedly attempting to mail methamphetamine and ecstasy to Singapore
A Singaporean man was arrested for allegedly attempting to mail crystal methamphetamine and ecstasy from Thailand to his home country. Airport security in Thailand checked the package and found the drugs hidden in a speaker. Chief of the Narcotics Control Board Wichai Chaimongkhol says 1,320 ecstasy pills and 3 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine, known as “ice,” were found in the…
- Crime News
ONCB to investigate transnational drug trafficking operations with routes in Thailand
Following the news of the Thai national arrested in South Korea for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine into the country, Thailand’s Office of Narcotics Control Board is now investigating transnational drug trafficking operations with routes in Thailand. Thailand’s Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin ordered for the investigation, advising authorities to investigate to see if drug traffickers in Thailand have been involved in operations…
- Crime News
Thai man faces charges for allegedly smuggling methamphetamine into South Korea
A 32 year old Thai man is facing charges for allegedly trafficking $12.1 million USD worth of methamphetamine into South Korea. The man was arrested earlier this month for allegedly smuggling around 4 kilograms of methamphetamine hidden in bags of protein supplements on a flight from Thailand to South Korea, according to Korean media. The man was allegedly paid 200,000 baht…
- Crime News
350kg of compressed marijuana seized off Mekong River
Navy officers in the Laos-bordering province of Nakhon Phanom seized a compressed marijuana shipment of about 350 kilogrammes as it was being offloaded from the Mekong River. 2 men were arrested while 3 more fled and have not been apprehended yet in the bust that took place late Friday night. The northern province, separated from Laos by the Mekong River,…
- Crime News
Thai authorities announce cargo ship’s route before drug bust in Australia | VIDEO
Thai authorities investigating the drug bust in Australia, where more than 300 kilograms of methamphetamine were seized from a Thai cargo ship, say they’ve narrowed down the route of the shipment and have identified a company involved. Cargo had first been loaded onto a Chinese vessel which left Chon Buri’s Laem Chabang port on March 25, according to Thailand’s Office…
- Politics News
Opposition party forms new subcommittee to remove Thammanat
The opposition party has created a new subcommittee to push for the removal of embattled Deputy Agriculture and Cooperatives Minister Thammanat Prompaew after the Constitutional Court’s ruling last week that he is fit to serve despite his Australian drug trafficking conviction. The Court ruled that the minister, a member of the Palang Pracharath Party, is qualified despite spending 4 years…
- Politics News
Deputy PM declares Thammanat Prompow controversy finished
Deputy PM Wissanu Krea-ngam says that the debate is over regarding Thammanat Prompow, the controversial Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Cooperatives and influential Palang Pracharath Party ‘fixer’. The Constitutional court has already ruled that he is qualified to hold office under Thai law and will keep his position, though a huge backlash followed the ruling, and the public wondered how…
- Politics News
Confirmation of Deputy Minister Thammanat, despite drug conviction, draws derision
Though not unexpected, the decision on Tuesday to allow Deputy Agriculture Minister Thammanat Prompow to keep his status in spite of an Australian drug conviction in the 1990s still drew plenty of outrage and backlash. In what some called Thailand’s lowest point, allowing the minister to keep his post may set a damning precedent regarding Thailand’s international obligations such as…
- Crime News
Police in Phuket seize 100,000 methamphetamine pills, women arrested on drug charges
Police in Phuket arrested 2 women on drug charges and seized a package containing 100,000 methamphetamine pills, 200 grams of crystal methamphetamine, and drug paraphernalia. Police say they received a tip about women suspected of selling methamphetamine and pills known as “ya ba,” meaning “crazy drug” in Thai. Officers tracked down 38 year old Ladawan ‘Mod’ Chuengyang and 24 year old…
- Crime News
Officers seized 31 million baht in cash and assets in 20 drug trafficking raids
In a major crackdown on a suspect drug network run by a woman in Northern Thailand, officers raided 20 locations in the Eastern region and seized cash as well as other assets valued at a total of 31 million baht. Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board launched an investigation back in October into a suspected drug network said to…
- Crime News
Police crackdown on 3 drug networks in Northern Thailand, local politician on the run
In an effort to suppress drug trafficking during the Covid-19 pandemic, police are cracking down on 3 suspected networks in Northern Thailand, including one linked to a local politician who is now on the run. In the busts, police confiscated assets valued at a total of 30.5 million baht. Police are still investigating drug cases linked to the head of…
- Crime News
Pedigree cats seized in drug raid find new home with “cat lady”
A cat lady has taken in 6 pedigree cats who were auctioned off yesterday after their owner was arrested in a drug raid. The auction proceeds went to the Narcotic Control Fund, which organises drug raids. The 6 cats, consisting of 5 Scottish Folds and 1 Bengal breed, were sold to Nutch Prasopsin, who owns a Facebok fan page called,…
- World News
Police arrest 2 Lao men, seize 550 kilograms of methamphetamine at Mekong River bank
In another drug bust by the Mekong River, police seized 550 kilograms of crystal methamphetamine valued at around 275 million baht. Methamphetamine trafficking across the river from Laos to Thailand has spiked since the Myanmar coup. Many militant groups in Myanmar border towns rely on synthetic drug production as a main source of income. With tightened patrol along the Thai-Myanmar…
- World News
Drug trafficking in Thailand spikes following Myanmar coup, volunteers keep close eye on border
Thailand has faced a spike in methamphetamine trafficking across the Mekong River following the military coup in neighbouring Myanmar. Local volunteers along the river are now helping out to identify potential drug smugglers disguised as fishermen. The volunteers tip off police when they see suspicious activity since they can’t make arrests and confronting a drug trafficker could be dangerous. One…
- Crime News
Mekong drug bust: methamphetamine seizure valued at 20 million baht
A sack of methamphetamine tablets, valued around 20 million baht, smuggled in tea packets, was seized along the bank of the Mekong River in north-east Thailand, a notorious drug trafficking route. A longtail boat pulled up to the shore of the Isaan province Mukdahan around 3am yesterday and the driver threw the sack onto the riverbank. Rangers and police, who…
- Crime News
7 people arrested for allegedly trafficking 8 million methamphetamine pills
7 people were arrested for allegedly trafficking a large quantity of methamphetamine pills. Police say they followed a suspicious vehicle to a warehouse in Pathum Thani, just north of Bangkok. Officers searched the vehicle and say they seized 8 million methamphetamine pills. The suspects allegedly told police that they were transferring the drugs to the warehouse and that they were…
- Crime News
More methamphetamine found on Thailand beach, suspected to be linked to sunken vessel
More packages of methamphetamine have washed up on a Thailand beach, this time on the shore of Koh Chang, an island in the Gulf of Thailand off the coast of Trat. Police have speculated that the drugs, all in similar packaging, may have been from a vessel that sank while carrying a shipment of drugs from Vietnam. In earlier reports,…
- Crime News
Another drug bust near the Mekong River, 500 kilograms of cannabis seized
In another drug bust in Northeastern province Nakhon Phanom, police arrested a man and seized 500 kilograms of compressed cannabis. Just yesterday, border patrol police in the province seized 920 kilograms of compressed cannabis from a boat on the Mekong River. In both cases, police suspect the cannabis came from Laos, just across the river. Police say they searched a…
- Crime News
Police seize 920 kilograms of cannabis smuggled across the Mekong River
In a major bust on the Mekong River, notorious for drug smuggling, border patrol police seized 920 kilograms of dried, compacted cannabis from a boat along the Nakhon Phanom riverbank, bordering Laos. Police were tipped off about a large shipment of drugs being trafficked across the Thai-Laos border. Police spotted a boat around 4am yesterday. When police moved in, men…
- Crime News
2 senior officers investigated over alleged drug trafficking involvement
The chief of Thailand’s national police, Suwat Jangyodsuk, has called an investigation into allegations that 2 senior officers were involved in a 2019 drug smuggling operation. The claims were made during last week’s censure debate, when opposition politicians alleged that a police colonel and a lieutenant general played a role in the trafficking of 1.5 tonnes of crystal methamphetamine discovered…
- Crime News
Drug trafficking suspects arrested after shootout with police, 1 injured
A drug suspect was injured in a shootout with police around 1am this morning in Isaan province Nakhon Ratchasima. The suspect and another man were both arrested for allegedly trafficking methamphetamine pills and crystal methamphetamine. Police say they believe the drugs were being trafficked from Nakhon Phanom, a province bordering Laos, to provinces in the central region. As the suspects’…
- Crime News
Police arrest 4 more people suspected of trafficking ketamine-based drug cocktail
Police arrested 4 more people suspected of trafficking a ketamine-based drug cocktail which is said to be linked to 7 deaths in Bangkok. In the past few days, 17 people have reportedly required medical treatment after using narcotics, which police suspect is the drug cocktail known as “K powdered milk.” Police say 6 people in the Wat Phraya Krai district…
