Seven Arab men, Thai woman arrested in Bangkok for alleged drug dealing

A sting operation by the Metropolitan Police Bureau has busted a gang comprising seven Arab men and a Thai woman for allegedly selling drugs to tourists in the Sukhumvit area.

During the operation on Wednesday night, an undercover police officer posing as a tourist walked around Soi Sukhumvit 3, where he was approached by several Arab men.

The officer was equipped with a hidden wireless microphone, allowing Metropolitan Police Bureau commissioner Pol Lt Gen Sayam Boonsom to monitor the operation in real time.

The undercover officer was lured into a five-storey shophouse on the soi, where he was promised “an experience like climbing to the top of a pyramid”. He was taken to the top floor, which housed a barbershop, and then into a hidden room at the back, where he was offered drugs for 2,000 baht per pill.

Upon confirming the transaction, Sayam ordered waiting police officers to storm the building and make the arrests.

Initially, no additional drugs were found beyond those offered to the undercover officer. However, after two sniffer dogs were brought in to search the premises, more narcotics were discovered.

Police seized four ecstasy pills, 3.3 grammes of crystal methamphetamine, 1.7 grammes of cocaine, two methamphetamine tablets, magic mushrooms, baraku (hookah) equipment, and contraband cigarettes.

The Thai woman was identified as Chalongkwan, who claimed she was unaware of any drug activity, saying she only operated a beauty salon in the building and sold marijuana.

The seven Arab men told police they were merely employees of a “boss”, whose name has been withheld pending further investigation.

Pol Maj Gen Thiradej Thamsutee, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said the group had been operating in the area for some time, intimidating foreign tourists and disturbing local residents.