Three arrested in Udon Thani drug bust
Two Thai men and a Lao man have been arrested and a total of 62,067 methamphetamine pills and 83.9 grams of crystal meth have been seized in Udon Thani's Muang district.
Udon Thani police chief Maj Gen Woranat Phanphon said on Friday that police netted an 18-year-old drug peddler on Wednesday, whose name is withheld due to his age, at a rented house in tambon Nong Nakham along with 147 meth pills. He then implicated Phalang Pilachai, 49, as his supplier.
Police arrested Phalang at his rented home in the same tambon, along with 1,920 meth pills and 83.9 grams of crystal meth. He told police he got the drugs from a Lao drug dealer identified only as "Thao Ex", and his compatriot Sulisak "Pingpong" Phapaserd would arrange the drug delivery. Police arrested Sulisak at an apartment in Soi Chanpattana and seized more than 60,000 meth pills.
Sulisak reportedly confessed that the drugs belonged to "Thao Ex" who would arrange to smuggle about 1,200 packs, or 240,000 meth pills, per time into Thailand. Sulisak said his responsibility was to store and deliver drugs to customers.
He told police that one such batch of 124,000 meth pills - which can fetch an estimated Bt24 million - would be sold within a month. He reportedly said the gang had smuggled drugs into Thailand two times before.