Police nab drug gang leader and meth pills in Chaiyaphum
Police have arrested six suspects including alleged drug-trafficking gang leader Phusinthorn Jomtharak, along with over 68,000 methamphetamine pills in Chaiyaphum province.
Phusinthorn, a 24-year-old Nong Bua Dang district native, was nabbed on Tuesday while visiting a drug inmate friend at Chaiyaphum Prison, a press conference on Wednesday was told by Provincial Police Region 3 deputy chief Pol Maj-General Tantivachai and Chaiyaphum police chief Pol Maj-General Somphot Khomprang.
Phusinthorn reportedly left five of his relatives and friends with a narcotics-manufacturing group located in the United Wa State Army territory within Myanmar in order to obtain a batch of 100,000 methamphetamine pills worth Bt1 million for distribution in Thailand.
Once he got the Bt1 million cash, he repaid the narcotics manufacturers and got his “human pawns” released, police said. Police said Phusinthorn’s gang has previously done this at least twice.
Following Phusinthorn’s arrest, police also apprehended his accomplices Yuranant Khampad, 24, Montri Salilard, 21, Khomkrit Doungnin, 31 and two male teens (whose names were withheld due to being under 18) who collected drugs from him to distribute in Chaiyaphum and nearby northeastern provinces.
Upon the arrest of Khomkrit and Yuranant at a Muang Chaiyaphum apartment room they shared, police also confiscated 975 methamphetamine pills.
Officers also retrieved Phusinthorn’s 68,970 methamphetamine pills from a sugarcane plantation in Tambon Nang Daed of Nong Bua Dang.