Russian man held for smuggling cannabis at Phuket Airport

JUST a day after a Belgian woman was arrested at Phuket Airport for attempting to smuggling over 31 kilogrammes of cannabis out of the country a Russian man too was apprehended on similar charges after over 17kg of cannabis flowers and resin were found in his baggage, Amarin TV said this afternoon (July 8).

Customs officers arrested Mr. Sergei (surname withheld), 30, after a search of his two blue suitcases, weighing 8kg, revealed 35 vacuum-sealed bags of cannabis flowers, weighing 11.4kg including packaging, and 12 bags of cannabis resin, weighing 6.2kg including packaging, hidden in them. The suitcases were seized as evidence.

During the initial questioning the suspect confessed that the suitcases and all the seized items belonged to him. He was therefore charged with smuggling goods out of the country without going through customs procedures and was taken to Sakhu police station for legal proceedings.

Meanwhile police warned the public against accepting payment to carry goods abroad as drug trafficking rings have adapted their tactics and are now using social media platforms to deceive victims.

Pol. Lt. Gen.Trairong Phiwphan, police spokesperson, said the Narcotics Suppression Division is currently expanding its investigation into a network that hires people to “carry goods” abroad. Another case aside from a flight attendant recently arrested in Australia for carrying over 1kg of heroin hidden in the linings of 12 tote bags is under the spotlight.

This second case involves the arrest of a female police lieutenant who was hired to take 30 cans of millet from Suvarnabhumi Airport to China. She was arrested in January this year by Chinese authorities after cannabis was discovered hidden in these cans.

After approximately two months of investigation, Chinese prosecutors dropped the charges, citing evidence that the police officer was a victim of a narcotics ring and was unaware that cannabis was hidden in these cans, and she was deported back to Thailand last March.

Meanwhile, the Thai police unit this officer belongs to is conducting a disciplinary investigation according to established regulations. If she is found guilty, disciplinary and criminal action will be decisively taken against her.

CAPTIONS:

Above and Front Page: The Russian suspect and the cannabis found in two of his suitcases.

Inserted: Pol. Lt. Gen.Trairong Phiwphan. All photos: Amarin TV

Earlier reports:

Belgian woman held for smuggling cannabis at Phuket Airport

Heroin-smuggling flight attendant names Thai woman in Australia as recipient

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