Bangladesh tourist’s Thai getaway turns into meth-fuelled overstay
Visitor, 30, tells police he became fascinated with freedom in Thailand after arriving and disappearing off the radar six months ago
A Bangladeshi man reported missing by his family for six months in Thailand was finally tracked down by immigration police on Thursday – only to be arrested on a drugs charge.
Immigration officials found Abu Al-Kasim, 30, staying with a Thai woman in a ninth-storey room of a hotel in Bang Na, southeast Bangkok. A search of the room turned up almost 2 grams of crystal methamphetamine (“ice”) hidden inside a snack box.
Immigration Division 1 officials found that Al-Kasim arrived in Thailand over six months ago but then lost contact with his relatives in Bangladesh. His passport showed that he entered the kingdom in May this year and his tourist visa had expired.
Police said he admitted to possessing narcotics, saying he had become fascinated by the freedom in Thailand, which led him to try narcotics.
He was escorted to Bang Na police station and charged with possessing narcotics and overstaying his visa.
