Briton arrested for selling drugs to tourists
Chiang Mai police on Tuesday arrested Briton Charly Garcia, 48, in a sting operation at a shop selling cannabis products in Muang district, following a complaint that a foreign national has been selling drugs to foreign tourists visiting the northern province.
Undercover police officers pretended to buy 12.5 grams of cocaine, 14.7 grams of ketamine, 192 grams of magic mushroom, 13 grams of LSD, and 9.8 grams of MDMA from the suspect, before arresting him with the evidence.
Police then searched the suspect’s room at a condominium in Chang Phueak subdistrict and reportedly found more drugs, namely 408 grams of cocaine, 595 grams of magic mushrooms, and 160 tablets of diazepam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax).
Police said the suspect admitted to reselling the drugs to tourists via the Telegram app, adding that he had bought all items except the magic mushrooms from a black man in Chiang Mai for 800,000 baht. Garcia said that he bought magic mushrooms from another foreigner in Pai district of Mae Hong Son province at 20 baht per gram.
Police said the suspect had entered Thailand on a student visa and had been arrested for drug dealing in Bangkok. Investigators are tracking possible drug networks behind user groups on Telegram.
Garcia was charged with possessing and selling narcotics in categories 1 (LSD, MDMA, ketamine), 2 (cocaine, alprazolam), 4 (diazepam), and 5 (magic mushrooms).
