Buddhist abbot and monks 'caught with drugs' in temple raid in Thailand
A Buddhist abbot and three other monks were allegedly caught with drugs in a temple raid in northeast Thailand.
Religious leader Phra Pipat, 32, reportedly used temple donations and ceremony fees to buy meth from local drug gangs in Buriram.
He was said to have shared the narcotics with his fellow monks at Wat Pa Nong Hin temple before police raided the property on September 18.
Officers said the operation began following a tip-off about a drug handover near the Mun River bridge.
They surveilled the area and spotted a suspicious black sedan running several red lights before stopping in Mueang Buriram district.
Cops then moved to search the car, where they found two monks, Kittisak, 31, and Wachirawit, 22, both inside, allegedly carrying drugs.
During the search, bungling Kittisak dropped a ziplock bag containing 10 meth pills.
Wachirawit was then found hiding 89 pills in his saffron robes, while another 82 were found under the car's mat.
Wire transfers and message logs for drug purchases were discovered on Kittisak's phone and later traced to a third monk, Yutthana, 27, and the temple abbot Phra Pipat.
Yutthana was detained as he was returning from his alms collection rounds. He allegedly admitted to buying drugs from local youths for 3,800 baht, which he shared with Kittisak.
Phra Pipat was then arrested when police stormed the Wat Pa Nong Hin temple, where he had been serving for seven years.
He initially denied taking drugs, but allegedly confessed after drug tests returned positive.
He claimed he had quit using meth before his ordination, but fell back into the habit 'after being tempted by a temple boy'.
He and the three other suspects have been formally defrocked.
The arrests come ahead of a mobile Dharma outreach event. However, only one monk now remains at the temple after the meth crackdown.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Suwat Nammongkol said efforts were continuing to track down the drug supply in the Phutthaisong district.
He said: 'We will expand the investigation to teenagers in Phutthaisong district who sourced drugs to sell to this group of monks for legal proceedings.'
Earlier this month, another temple abbot, Phra Wachirayan, was arrested for allegedly diverting millions of baht from temple donations and unauthorised certificates while having a sexual relationship with a woman accused of helping him launder the funds.
Buddhism is the dominant religion in Thailand, where the majority of the population identifies as Theravada Buddhist.
Monks are expected to follow strict religious rules, including abstaining from alcohol, drugs, and sex which are considered incompatible with monastic life.
However, Thailand's Buddhist clergy has faced a number of scandals in recent years involving sex and drug scandals, and alleged misconduct, sparking scrutiny of discipline within the religious establishment.
