POLICE have arrested a man who has confessed to being the person wearing a blue hoodie seen in a video clip delivering a package containing 12 tote bags at the condominium of a Thai flight attendant who was later arrested at Melbourne Airport on heroin smuggling charges, Amarin TV said this evening (July 4).
Pol. Gen. Samran Nualma, deputy national police chief, said Mr. Uthai (surname withheld), 57, a Hmong hill tribesman from Nan province, was apprehended urgently with an arrest warrant later obtained from the court and brought to his rented hideout to search for evidence.
The suspect confessed that on June 20 he travelled to Chiang Kham district, Phayao province, to collect 12 tote bags with four-elephant motifs and six with two-elephant motifs, all with the heroin already placed on the linings.
He stored them at his hotel room and upon hearing of the arrest of the flight attendant Ms. Meena, 26, at Melbourne Airport after approximately 1 kilogramme of heroin was found on the linings of 12 tote bags, he flushed the remaining drug down the toilet and dumped the tote bags at various places.
Forensic examination of materials seized at this hotel room showed heroin residue with a concentration score of almost 900 out of 1,000, confirming it was indeed heroin.
Pol. Gen. Samran added that the suspect confessed to knowing from the beginning that the bags contained heroin and that he received the drug from a masked individual in Chiang Kham district before travelling to Bangkok by bus and storing them in his hotel room.
He also confessed to being paid 60,000 baht to deliver the drug to Meena’s condo in Bang Na area, and that he has done this three times. Regarding his employer, the suspect stated he was contacted by a Thai individual through a Line group but could not remember his real name with the account run under a code name, such as “Rinrin,” which authorities will investigate further.
After repacking the tote bags for delivery, he contacted the same driver he used for all three drop-offs with his name being Mr. Atirat, nicknamed Pae, 59, reaching him via his phone number not through a ride-hailing app.
Although the suspect claims not to know the driver personally, police are not convinced and are gathering evidence and if further involvement is found, an additional arrest warrant will be requested from the court.
Pol. Gen. Samran confirmed the suspect did confess to being the person seen delivering the package at the condo as seen in the footage, also mentioning that the clothes he wore that day had been discarded. Although the colour was different from the clothes he wore on the day of his arrest, it was the same brand that he usually wears and likes.
Regarding the status of the flight attendant arrested in Australia, Pol. Gen. Samran stated that this falls under the investigative jurisdiction of the Australian police, and therefore he cannot interfere. However, Thai police are ready to cooperate and provide all evidence if the Australian authorities request it.
The charges against the suspect are currently being reviewed in detail based on the circumstances of the case. It is expected that there will be multiple charges due to involvement in possession and trafficking of narcotics, as well as other offences as revealed by the evidence. The investigation continues to identify all others involved in this drug trafficking operation, both at the source and the destination.
Just as police escorted Uthai to their vehicle, he said, “I apologise to the flight attendant. I beg your forgiveness”.
CAPTIONS:
Top: The suspect, wearing a blue hoodie when he dropped off the heroin package at the condo, right, and after he was arrested, left.
Front Page: Police searching the suspect’s hotel room, left, and the suspect well-guarded. All photos – Amarin TV
Earlier reports:
Thai flight Attendant denied bail for heroin smuggling in Australia and faces dismissal
Thai police hunting for ecommerce operator in flight attendant’s heroin arrest in Australia
More suspects in flight attendant heroin trafficking case identified
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