Two brothers 'caught smuggling 2.4 tonnes of meth to Australia'
Two Thai brothers were caught allegedly smuggling 2.4 tonnes of meth to Australia.
Pariwat, 43, and Piti, 46, allegedly used fishing as a cover to move large crystal meth hauls across the Gulf of Thailand.
The Crime Suppression Division, working with Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officers and Khanom Marine Police, arrested the siblings in separate raids in Nakhon Si Thammarat province, on September 1.
Police detained the younger brother, Pariwat, on a roadside in the Khanom district after he allegedly tried to flee in a red car and threw his mobile phone away in a bid to destroy evidence.
His older brother Piti, 46, was then tracked down and arrested aboard the P. Chokchanta 399 fishing boat off southern Thailand, just minutes after departing Khanom Bay.
Both were charged with selling Category 1 narcotics and attempting to export them from the country.
Police also seized two mobile phones believed to contain evidence linked to the alleged smuggling operation.
Authorities said the arrest stemmed from a major bust in June 2025, when they seized 2.4 tonnes of crystal meth allegedly smuggled from a tourist boat in Rayong province.
They found that the drugs were being moved to Nakhon Si Thammarat and were due to be transferred to a larger vessel before being shipped to Australia.
Financial records, suspicious bank accounts and communications allegedly linked the two brothers to the trafficking gang.
The older brother, Piti, served as a coordinator, managing finances and sourcing Starlink satellite equipment for communication on the boat.
The younger brother, Pariwat, was responsible for directing the boat crew and overseeing transportation.
Police Major General Pattanasak Bubphasuwan, commander of the Crime Suppression Division, said: ‘Both suspects were handed over to the Department of Special Investigation for legal proceedings, while further investigations are underway to identify and dismantle the remaining members of the network.'
