'Drug baron Benz' nabbed at checkpoint in Kanchanaburi
ALLEGED DRUG baron Adisak "Benz Thasai" Srisa-ard was apprehended yesterday by police, who want to speak to him about his alleged drug activities and also about posting a death threat on Facebook in November targeting police in Suphan Buri province.
Adisak, 26, was presented to the press at Royal Thai Police headquarters in Bangkok following his arrest near the Chedi Sam Ong border checkpoint in Kanchanaburi province. He had been travelling to Muang district in a van.
He claimed he posted the Facebook death threat against police officers stationed at Sri Prachan Police Station in Suphan Buri and their families in a fit of rage after two of his friends were arrested on drug charges.
After posting the threat with a picture of himself armed with guns, which went viral, Adisak reportedly evaded arrest by fleeing across the border to Myanmar and laying low with a former inmate friend of his.
Following a tip-off on his return, Army and police nabbed him in the van only 5 kilometres from the border, National Police chief General Somyos Phumphanmuang said.
Police would also investigate a claim made by Adisak in the post about police taking bribes from him.
Rogue police would be severely punished, he added.
Adisak was suspected of dealing in drugs from November 2011 to July 2014. An arrest warrant for him was issued after arrested drug suspect Mongkol Boonprasert last July implicated him as a supplier.
Sri Prachan police carried out an operation last August that just missed him but caught his alleged accomplice Kalayarat Wongprasert, which prompted Adisak to post the death threat.
As Adisak was being handed over to Sri Prachan police, his mother Kayasinee Khamsrichan, expressed concern for his safety in police custody.
