ONCB to tighten noose on Thai drug gangs with foreign links

TUESDAY, JUNE 01, 2021
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The Office of Narcotics Control (ONCB) has been instructed to urgently launch an investigation into possible international drug-trafficking links after a Thai national was caught in Seoul with a cache of methamphetamine in May.

Justice Minister Somsak Thepsuthin said on Tuesday that he wants ONCB to check whether local drug traffickers monitored by police have a hand in crimes overseas.

“The officials will speed up the investigation and confiscate drug-related assets,” he warned.

Yonhap news agency reported that a 32-year-old Thai national had been arrested and indicted for allegedly smuggling about 4 kilos of methamphetamine pills into South Korea. The seized drugs have a street value of up to 13.4 billion won or 380.6 million baht.

The suspect apparently received the drugs hidden in bags of protein supplements through an air shipment on May 6 in exchange for a payment of 200,000 baht, Yonhap reported.