BANGKOK: Following three days of surveillance, Thai police have detained a Malaysian and seized 65kg of heroin bound for Penang.
The heroin was found inside a car the Malaysian man and his Thai accomplice were travelling in, at the Nakhon Si Thammarat province today.
When the police intercepted the duo at 7.30am in the Tham Pannara district, they also stumbled on a stash of 300,000 ‘Yaba’ pills hidden inside the vehicle.
“The suspects intended to ferry the drugs to Hatyai and then to Satun in southern Thailand, before smuggling the drugs to its final destination in Penang,” Tham Pannara police chief, Col Prawit Kheisawai told Bernama in a telephone interview.
He said the Malaysian man who was from Penang had a Thai wife who lived in the Satun province.
Prawit said the police received a tip-off on today’s drug smuggling attempt using the southern route and waited at the pre-determined location for three days.
“After waiting for three days, the police swung into action when the car finally emerged, seizing the heroin which was packed in five bags,” he said, adding that the duo confessed they were paid to transport the drugs from Ayutthaya to Hatyai.
The duo had picked up the drugs from Ayutthaya in central Thailand, said Prawit.
He said the seized heroin carried the popular ‘Double UO Globe’ logo, which is associated with notorious drug syndicates in Laos.-- BERNAMA