BANGKOK: Thai Police seized 10.5 million “Yaba” pills and 12kg “Ice” (Crystal Methaphetamine) from an international syndicate before they could smuggle it to a “neighbouring” country.
National Police chief Gen Chakthip Chaijinda said, the seizure last Saturday was a follow up from last month’s operations in Samut Prakan where the police hauled 10.3 million “Yaba” pills from the same syndicate.
“Most of the customers came from a neighbouring country in southern Thailand,” he told the media yesterday, but stopped short of identifying the country although many speculated the syndicate’s “customers” were Malaysians.
Chakthip said the drugs were smuggled into Thailand and stored in a rented house at Klongsawa district, north of Bangkok before it was distributed to the syndicate’s customers.
Two suspects, believed to be a runner for the syndicate were arrested by the police in the operation.
Meanwhile, a source involved with the operation told Bernama, members of the drug syndicate regularly traveled to Hatyai in southern Thailand to traffic large amounts of drugs especially “Ice”, which is a higher-grade form of “Methaphetamine.”
“They (the syndicate members) trafficked about 100kg to 200kg of “Ice” each time each they travelled to southern Thailand. They handed over the drugs to foreign men from neighbouring country in Hatyai,” he said.
The syndicate’s members travelled to the popular town in southern Thailand at least twice a month.
The source who declined to reveal his identity due to the sensitivity of information he shared said, intelligence information showed that about 100kg of “Ice” exchanged hands each time the syndicate members travelled to Hatyai.
The most recent exchanges between the syndicates and its foreign customers was last month, he said, the authorities had managed to arrest several members of the syndicates before this.
According to him, most of the “Yaba” pills, a low-grade type of “Methaphetamine” were meant for distribution in and around Bangkok and in neighbouring countries, but “Ice” were mostly destined for export. - Bernama