Hearing impaired drug supplier arrested in sting operation in Bangkok
A 53-year-old woman with hearing impairment has been arrested in a follow-up of a sting operation to crack down on narcotic gangs in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi area, the Metropolitan Police Bureau said on Thursday.
Police said they believed the suspect had been using mute persons to deliver drugs to customers to avoid being implicated if any one of them was arrested.
The sting operation took place on May 10 when undercover officers pretended to order crystal meth via Line application from a vendor, who had set a drop off point at a deaf community in Bang Kapi district, Pol Maj-Gen Teeradej Thumsutee, commander of the bureau’s investigation division said.
A Thai man who showed up, allegedly carrying a bag of drugs, was arrested by officials. During questioning, police found out that the man was unable to speak but he could hear and communicate via hand signals, he said.
Investigators later uncovered his identity as Phatrasin (last name withheld). Due to limited progress in communication with the suspect, it took the police nearly two weeks to find out that he had got the drugs from Prayoon (last name withheld), a deaf woman who lives with her mute boyfriend in the Rama IX area.
Teeradej said police tracked the woman down to a deaf community in the area and arrested her. They also discovered contact information in Prayoon’s mobile phone on other suspects who appeared to be drug mules, as well as photos of drug parties held in the community.
Prayoon reportedly told officials that she did not force anyone to work for her and that all her contacts had volunteered to deliver drugs to her customers.
She added that she got the drug supplies from a man and a woman she only knows by their nicknames, Tor and Fon. The two are believed to be big-time drug dealers in the Rama IX area. The police vowed to continue the crackdown.
Prayoon was charged with conspiring with more than two persons to commit serious narcotic crimes, and selling drugs.
