Court warrants for Indian and Bhutanese
THE Criminal Court issued arrest warrants yesterday for Indian and Bhutanese nationals on charges of murder, hiding a corpse and possession of narcotics.
Manoj Kumar Daga, from India, and Tandin Wangchuk, from Bhutan, were accused of being involved in the death of Ugyen Tshering, 46, from Bhutan, and smuggling narcotics into Thailand.
Tshering was found dead Klong Ong Ang in Bangkok last Sunday. Police said he had ingested 58 balls of crystal methamphetamine, better known as “ice”, and one of the bags had burst inside him.
It is suspected that he was a member of a narcotics syndicate from Central Asia.
A video clip from a closed-circuit surveillance camera showed Daga and Wangchuk packed Tshering’s dead body into a big bag and dumped it into the canal on April 2. Another camera showed that they left the scene in a cab to unknown destination.
However, it is unclear if the two suspects are still in Thailand. Police said they would conduct more inquiries to try to determine their whereabouts.
National police chief Pol General Chakthip Chaijinda said Tshering may have been one of a gang of eight who used the “body-packer” method to smuggle illicit drugs into Thailand.
The group included an Indian, six Bhutanese and one Nepalese. Each of them may have swallowed 40-50 balls of ‘ice’ — about 400 grams per person, he said. Unfortunately for Tshering, a pack burst inside his body, he said.
