Democrat Party denies deputy leader linked to drug suspect

Democrat Party deputy leaders Sathit Wongnongtoey and Chaichana Dechdecho on Wednesday denied claims that Chaichana was connected to a drug suspect arrested in Nakhon Si Thammarat, saying the suspect merely used the Dechdecho surname and was not a relative. They also said a Facebook page was attempting to discredit the party.

CSI LA post prompts response

Sathit and Chaichana were responding to a post by the CSI LA Facebook page, which said at 12.15am on Wednesday that police were preparing to search the home of a deputy leader of a political party associated with the colour blue, alleging involvement in drug trafficking.

At 10.39am, CSI LA posted a police report from Mueang district police station in Nakhon Si Thammarat, saying a drug suspect identified as Jakkrit Dechdecho had been arrested and that the case provided grounds for police to seek a search warrant for the home of a well-known politician. The post also highlighted the Dechdecho surname.

“Mixing things up,” says Sathit

Sathit said CSI LA was effectively “comparing apples and oranges” and mixing unrelated matters.

He said Nakhon Si Thammarat police arrested a drug suspect on Tuesday evening and the suspect happened to share the same surname as Chaichana. Sathit added that the suspect told police he was not related to Chaichana, despite using the same surname.

“It mixed up this report with earlier reports that ten politicians were suspected of being linked to drug trafficking or grey money,” Sathit said.

Legal action planned over alleged defamation

Sathit said Chaichana had instructed the party’s legal team to file a defamation lawsuit against the page for damaging the party and his reputation.

Chaichana also confirmed he had assigned the party’s legal team to take legal action against CSI LA.

Chaichana: No search, no involvement

In a Facebook post responding to CSI LA, Chaichana said police did not search his home, as speculated by the page, and insisted he had never been involved in drug trafficking.

“Please stop this unconstructive way. You’d better report what would be useful to the people. Throughout my life, I have never been involved in drug trafficking,” Chaichana wrote.

Details of the arrest in Nakhon Si Thammarat

Police arrested Jakkrit, 30, on Tuesday with two kilogrammes of crystal meth (“ice”) and a pistol, according to the report. He was charged with drug trafficking, possessing a firearm without a licence, carrying a firearm in a public place, and drug use while driving.

Jakkrit told police he had no connection with Chaichana’s family. Chaichana reiterated that Jakkrit was not a relative and said the surname “Dechdecho” is widely used by many families in Nakhon Si Thammarat.