A CRACKDOWN on a foreign cocaine trafficking ring on Koh Phangan led to the arrest of a Canadian man, a Nigerian man and his Thai wife over the last couple of days, Naewna newspaper said today (Jan. 28).
Upon being ordered Pol. Lt. Gen. Saksira Puek-am, commander of Tourist Police, to intensify investigation of foreigners breaking the law in tourist areas the unit on the popular island targeted this gang.
At 9.30 p.m. on Monday (Jan. 26) the Tourist Police team spotted Mr. Kanan (surname withheld), 40, a Canadian national, suspiciously riding a motorcycle while wearing black clothes and using a scarf to conceal his face in Ban Tai subdistrict. A search uncovered two bags of cocaine hidden in a stainless steel container placed up his sleeve and methamphetamine paraphernalia in his room. Phone records clearly indicated that the drug delivery was arranged at the location where the arrest took place.
Upon being questioned Kanan admitted to having obtained the drug from a man known as “Maria KPG.” Authorities then mounted a sting operation to buy 2 grammes of cocaine from this person which led to the arrest of Mr. John, 43, a Nigerian national, and his Thai wife Ms.Mintra in front of a laundromat with some cocaine found wrapped in black tape and hidden under the carpet of their sedan.
Mintra later told police that John did not have a stable job so frequently delivered drugs to tourists at night.
Interestingly John had been following news reports of other Nigerians being arrested to study police tactics in an attempt to evade detection. However, an in-depth investigation ultimately linked him to the network of Mr. Ugoma who was arrested in the middle of this month.
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This and Front Page – The drug suspects being arrested on Koh Phangan. Photos – Naewna
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