Assets worth THB2.5bn seized from Northeast drug gang posing as truckers
Narcotics suppression police (NSP) have seized assets worth over 2.48 billion baht during raids across the Northeast.
The crackdown followed the discovery of nearly 2 million amphetamine tablets in a vehicle at a checkpoint in Nakhon Ratchasima on June 14, said NSP chief Lt General Sarayut Sanguanphokai on Wednesday.
The resulting investigation found that a drug-trafficking ring was posing as a trucking company to ship narcotics across the country.
Police said the vehicle’s driver, Watthana Sriwilai, confessed to transporting methamphetamine over Northeast borders into Thailand and delivering it to customers in southern provinces.
Watthana’s arrest led to the arrests of two other suspected gang members in Sakon Nakhon and Nonthaburi, who police said provided information on the gang’s bases in seven Northeast provinces.
On November 15, police launched raids at over 30 locations and confiscated 200 million baht in cash, 16 trailer trucks, six houses, 17 land deeds, a sawmill, shares of two logistic companies, several guns and ammunition, and 15 bank accounts with over 550 million baht in them.
Sarayut said the seizures helped to block the financial network of the drug gang and would lead to the arrests of more accomplices.
