Millions in drugs seized, four suspects arrested

The arrests of Saravuth Noopan, 23, Umar Ali, 23, and Banleusak Manma, 24, in Narathiwat came after Narcotics Control Board officials with the help of Sungai Kolok police searched a house in tambon Pamesa.
The officials had followed Saravuth after he picked up the ya ba in Bangkok in the hope of storing it at a house pending distribution to Thai and Malaysian dealers, police said. The officials also extended their search to cover Saravuth’s home in Songkhla’s Muang district, where they allegedly found another 100,000 ya ba tablets. The three men claimed they were innocent and that the drugs belonged to a friend. They were charged with possessing ya ba with the intention to sell the drug.
Meanwhile, officers of Surat Thani Border Patrol Police Region 417 arrested Rawee Kaewsom, 40, as he was allegedly about to deliver 3.8kg of crystal meth to a customer at a Makro car park on Tuesday. Rawee told police he was hired for Bt15,000 to pick up the drugs from Surat Thani train station. The arrest came after police learned that a drug ring led by an inmate at Nakhon Si Thammarat Prison would deliver the drugs to dealers in Surat Thani.
Rawee had just served six years and four months in jail for possessing 180 ya ba tablets in 2004. He had also allegedly delivered 3kg of crystal meth to a dealer at a Big C outlet before, but made good his escape before police were about to arrest him. Rawee was reportedly involved with the Bang Song drug ring, whose 10 members were nabbed along with a large amount of drugs and military weapons last week.