Long jail sentence for drug dealer
A court has handed out a 108-year imprisonment to a 30-year-old drug suspect who was caught selling marijuana online and sending to his customers in the post.
The sentence of the Phitsanulok Provincial Court was, however, reduced to 27 years for the man, fwho was arrested in May along with 361 kilograms of marijuana and 202 yaba pills.
Montri Piyapan was found guilty of possessing more than 10 kilograms of marijuana with intent to sell the drug. These offences earned him a 15-year jail term and/or a fine of Bt1 million. He also received a prison sentence of two years for each of 43 charges of conspiring to sell the illicit drugs, lifting the sentence to 101 years, plus a further seven years and a fine of Bt400,000 for possession of yaba pills and illegal ammunition.
Thus, the court’s total sentence was imprisonment for 108 years and a fine of Bt1.4 million.
However, the Criminal Code’s Section 91 allows only up for a maximum of 50 years for such offences, said the judge, who further halved his sentence to his admission of guilt.
Maitri thus received 25 years in jail term and a fine of Bt700,500. Since he couldn't pay the fine, two years was added to his sentence, making 27 years in all.
He was arrested on May 30 in Muang Phitsanulok, along with a 17-year-old female accomplice, who was indicted separately due to her age.
Police seized 71 kilograms of marijuana in 44 post packages and 202 yaba pills. The subsequent search at his home in Bang Rakham district yielded another 290 kilograms of marijuana.
Officers also found that he had been selling marijuana for a year, selling up to 200 kilograms per month. They believe he earned Bt300,000-Bt400,000 a month from his dealing.
