ARRESTED by the police in their “Devil’s Wing Operation 67/1” is the head of a transnational drug network and his finance chief with 34 assets, including a house, four plots of land, cars, gold jewellery and firearms worth 105 million baht seized, Thai Rath newspaper said today (Jan. 4).
Deputy National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panpetch said the drug baron, only identified as Mr. Anand, and his finance chief, Mr. Suriya, had been sending drugs they had ordered at neighbouring countries to third countries.
On May 13, 2023 they had tried to secretly deliver 1,500kg of crystal methamphetamine (Ice) at Tha Sala district, Nakhon Si Thammarat, but were unsuccessful with a Narcotics Suppression Bureau police team able to seize this lot and arrest his subordinates.
Despite this, Anand continued smuggling drugs with another group of his subordinates carrying 1,000kg of Ice across the border to Chiang Rai on Sep. 19, 2023. However police intercepted the drug caravan with this triggering a clash in which a policeman was shot dead.
Police obtained arrest warrants for Anand and four of his men and then rounded them up.
Moreover Narcotics Suppression Bureau police were also able to seize 503,673 methamphetamine pills from Anand’s network as it was being transported from Chiang Rai to the central region in a sting operation with policemen having infiltrated the network and assigned to transport this lot for a fee.
As they waited for the drug, they saw several motorcycles ride up together with each one having a parcel in a basket up front. However at the last minute the motorbike riders realised it was a trap so dumped the drug and sped off with this total amount of meth pills then being seized.
Police were also able to seize 6.5 million meth tablets from Mr. Bunchuay and Mr. Somkiat, as they were transporting it from Nakhon Phanom to Saraburi.
Pol. Gen. Kittirat said Narcotics Suppression Bureau police intend to wipe out a hundred drug networks that smuggle more than 500,000 meth pills each time within the first half of this year.
So far 289 members of 55 drug networks have been rounded up and over 122 million meth pills seized.
In December alone 23 drug suspects were arrested in 19 cases with 15.6 million meth pills and one tonne of Ice worth 414 million baht seized.
CAPTION:
Deputy Police Chief Pol. Gen. Kittirat Panpetch and his team announcing the arrest of a drug baron and seizure of big lots of drugs. Photo: Thai Rath’
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