Six fishermen arrested over marijuana haul in Phang Nga
Phang Nga police have arrested six local fishermen with 456 kilograms of dry marijuana leaves.
Five of those arrested were named as Boonkum Bohmuang, 31, Rachan Thong-Iad, 27, Sakrit Thong-Iad, 25, boat owner Thalerngsak Thanyupak, 36, and Manoch Thintalay, 27.
Police said that, after being informed about the drugs being transported by boat through the Andaman Sea, an undercover police officer contacted two of the men to buy some marijuana.
The men are said to have brought the boat to shore in the mangrove forest near Baan Tha Dan Pier in Koh Panyi sub-district.
Police arrived at the appointed time, cordoned off the area and arrested three men with the 300 blocks of marijuana hidden in eight fish food sacks. Police continued their search and arrested the other men with 150 more kilograms of marijuana in blocks.
All of them confessed to possessing and trading Category 5 drugs, police said. The arrested men claimed the drugs belonged to “Bung Lee” in Satun province who arranged to transport them to “Je Sao” in Krabi.
The fishermen told police they were offered Bt60,000 to disperse the drugs to customers and sellers in the area.
“This is the first offshore drugs crackdown in 10 years. The drug dealers might have changed their transportation ways, but they can’t sneak away from police eyes,” said Pol Lt-General Sorasak Yenprem, Acting Royal Thai Police Region 8 Commander.
“This was an integrated job involving many departments of police. If the drugs were released to the market, they would be worth about Bt12 million.”