Thai man arrested when cops find 2kg of meth hidden in tamarind jars
A Thai man was arrested when cops found meth hidden in tamarind jars destined for Japan.
Sompong Kaewphadee, 50, was detained at his home in Nakhon Nayok on July 16 over bank transfers linked to the suspected drug shipment.
Police seized the drug-laden jars from a condo in Bangkok following a report from courier Patcharanan Boromkasemsuk, 43, on July 13.
Patcharanan claimed she was hired by a Facebook user to ship the package of snacks, seasonings, sweets, and herbal inhalers to Tokyo.
While packing for her flight, Patcharanan said she noticed that the tamarind jars were unusually heavy. She opened them and discovered a white substance wrapped in plastic beneath the dense layers of brown tamarind paste.
Fearing it contained drugs, she reportedly decided to travel to Japan without taking the package, before alerting the police upon returning to Thailand.
Footage shows officers inspecting the crystalline substance, which was later confirmed to be methamphetamine weighing 2 kilogrammes in total.
The drugs were reportedly destined for Tokyo, where Thai nationals allegedly collected the parcels before passing them through multiple intermediaries.
Thai police said they were coordinating with Japanese agencies to identify the source of the drugs.
Authorities have issued arrest warrants for four individuals, including Sompong.
Police said he was charged with 'participating in a transnational organised crime group' as he allegedly lent his bank accounts to a Vietnamese syndicate to receive drug payments.
Police Lieutenant General Sayam Boonsom, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said: 'During questioning, he claimed to have a Vietnamese girlfriend named Mali, with whom he had been in a relationship for about a year.
'He said that he had given her his Kasikorn Bank and Siam Commercial Bank accounts for her convenience, as she is a foreigner. His girlfriend is currently in Vietnam and is scheduled to return next month.
‘Investigators found that his account received payments for overseas drug shipments, which led to his arrest.
‘We are expanding the investigation and have handed him over to the inquiry officer at Bang Yi Khan Police Station for further legal action.'
Officials said they were probing the girlfriend's involvement in the drug trafficking operation.
They added that the drugs belonged to a Vietnamese cross-border smuggling network, with its alleged ringleader believed to be in Hanoi.
The group allegedly recruited couriers similar to the case of glamorous Thai flight attendant, Mina Kondo, who was arrested in Australia with narcotics hidden in tote bags.
The tall brunette, who had previously won beauty pageants, was charged with importing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug and possessing a marketable quantity of a border-controlled drug, both of which carry a maximum penalty of 25 years' imprisonment.
She was remanded in custody on June 26 and is scheduled to reappear before the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on September 14.
Thailand has become a notorious hub for drug production and trafficking. In the north of the country, the ‘Golden Triangle' area shares borders with Laos and Myanmar, and has produced large amounts of opium since the 1950s but focus in recent years has shifted to the more profitable methamphetamine.
Officials believe most of the meth is produced in the Shan State of Myanmar before being distributed through neighbouring countries where prices are higher before ending up in the most expensive markets of Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.
However, cracking down on drug production has been complicated by the influx of crime gangs from China and the Burmese civil war, which has seen the army take over the country - along with control of lucrative drugs chains.
