Marijuana dragnet in Nakhon Phanom snares two, lets another escape
Two Lao men were arrested in Nakhon Phanom’s Muang district late Monday night for allegedly smuggling 209 kilograms of marijuana across the Mekong River near the old residence of the provincial governor.
The drug-suppression centre in the province received a tip earlier in the day that smugglers would try to bring drugs across the Mekong bank in Muang district, but most of the bank was occupied by communities except the lawns in front of government residences.
Acting on the tip-off, police disguised themselves as homeless people and staked out the area near the residences.
Nakhon Phanom deputy governor told a press conference at 9.30am on Tuesday that undercover police spotted a boat crossing from Laos at about 11pm.
When the boat reached the middle of the river, its engine was turned off and three men rowed it to the Thai shore.
When they reached the bank and police tried to arrest the suspects, all three jumped onto the shore and tried to flee. Two were arrested but the third escaped.
The two captured suspects were identified as Duangchai Xayanakhon, 27 and Somporn Somsanuk, 24.
Police found 209 bars of marijuana in the boat, with each bar weighing one kilogram.
The two suspects said they had been hired by the man who had fled, who was also described as a Lao national, to smuggle the drugs to a Thai buyer.
As police were making the arrest, a pickup truck that had been parked nearby was seen speeding off.