snoop1130 Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Hidden ‘drugs’ tunnel worthy of a Hollywood thriller By THE NATION Hidden ‘drugs’ tunnel LIKE A scene from a film, an underground passage was discovered at an alleged drug kingpin’s house in the border province of Tak during a 6am raid on Thursday… but the man himself was nowhere to be seen. It recalled the WWII classic “The Great Escape”, in which prisoners built an underground tunnel to flee their PoW camp. Police Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) officers, Anti Money-Laundering Office officials, local police and administrators as well as soldiers searched 11 locations in Tak’s Mae Sot district and 14 others sites in Bangkok, Lop Buri, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai, to crack a transnational “ice” (crystal methamphetamine) trafficking ring allegedly led by Myanmar national Sua “Chang the Dragon” Songkittikul. Although 48-year-old Sua, who reportedly also has a Thai passport and a residence in Mae Sot, was absent, a team led by national police deputy chief Pol General Chalermkiat Srivorakan discovered a 100-metre-long tunnel from his home within a 22-rai (3.5-hectare) compound in Mae Sot that also contained a jewellery factory still under construction, a company office and cargo warehouse. Police suspect that the passage, which provides a route from the house to an outdoor spot 100 metres away, was created to transport drugs and other illegal items, and evade police arrest. A chemical lab, whose purpose police suspect was to make “ice”, was also found on the premises. Officers impounded the property for further inspection, while two male caretakers insisted they were just hired to guard the place. The operation stemmed from a police investigation that secured arrest warrants over money-laundering charges for Sua, his jewellery business partner Prapat Saetuang, 27 and Prapat’s mother-in-law Nathor Yodmahawan. During another police raid of Prapat’s house 10 kilometres away, officers apprehended Prapat, who denied any involvement with, or knowledge of, Sua’s alleged drug trafficking and claimed he hadn’t been able to contact Sua for nearly two years. Police also arrested Prapat’s mother-in-law during the raid. Back in September to November 2016, the NSB joined forces with their counterparts from the US and Australia to monitor Sua’s alleged transnational drug activities. Two gang members were arrested in November 2016 while trying to transport 1,100 kilograms of “ice” in a car in Myanmar to a ship in order to smuggle the load to a third country. A search at a Yangon warehouse yielded a further 621 kilograms of “ice” and two Taiwanese men were arrested. As the chief suspects had fled from Yangon to Mae Sot, Myanmar police asked officers in Thailand to apprehend Sua, who was believed to be the owner of the drugs, plus his wife and accomplices. NSB deputy superintendent Pol Colonel Pisal Erb-arb said the police investigation over the past year had led to the seizure of assets worth Bt150 million from Sua’s gang. Sua’s group was also suspected of links to the jailed Lao drug kingpin Xaysana Keophimpa’s ring that led to the jailing of actress Naphapa Tantrakul’s motorcycle racer ex-husband Akarakit “Benz Racing” Worarojcharoendet. A primary court in September sentenced Akarakit, 31, to eight years in prison – and later granted him a Bt1-million bail – after finding him guilty of laundering money by leasing a Bt20-million Lamborghini on behalf of Natthapol Nakkham, an alleged accomplice of Xaysana. Chalermkiat said Sua’s group used Chiang Rai’s Wiang Kaen district-based Hmong traffickers to move drugs into Thailand while Natthapol served as a liaison for the drugs to be sent to other countries, including Taiwan and Australia. He alleged Sua’s group had trafficked drugs for at least 10 years before opening the Tak jewellery company as a front for money-laundering. Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/breakingnews/30360854 -- © Copyright The Nation 2018-12-20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
observer90210 Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 The chap seems like a top gun of substance marketing. And why does it seem that he appears to have forgotten the monthly brown enveloppe worship ritual ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
from the home of CC Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 26 minutes ago, snoop1130 said: It recalled the WWII classic “The Great Escape”, in which prisoners built an underground tunnel to flee their PoW camp To me it recalls the antics of El Chapo and how he funneled in 100's of tons of coke into America. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mok199 Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 So much brass their ,yet they managed to shake me down at a road block today..Where do they get the time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justgrazing Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 hour ago, snoop1130 said: It recalled the WWII classic “The Great Escape”, in which prisoners built an underground tunnel to flee their PoW camp. Sua was wandering around on a regular basis with bags of dirt down his trousers whilst casually emptying them outta the bottom of the strides when no one was looking then .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Justgrazing Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 1 hour ago, snoop1130 said: A chemical lab, whose purpose police suspect was to make “ice”, A Chem' lab' .. Jeez couldn't they make ice in one of those little trays that you put in the freezer part of the fridge .. Bloody drugs Baron's have to show off don't they .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
car720 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Must have some old friends from the NVA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungstib Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 11 hours ago, snoop1130 said: trafficking ring allegedly led by Myanmar national Sua “Chang the Dragon” Songkittikul. 11 hours ago, snoop1130 said: 48-year-old Sua, who reportedly also has a Thai passport and a residence in Mae Sot, Dont you just love how it fits Thailand narrative better if he is a Burmese. If he truly holds a Thai passport (and its pretty amazing that no-one can confirm it) then he is a Thai citizen. And Songkittikul sure sounds Thai. But those pesky Burmese...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisinth Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 11 hours ago, snoop1130 said: Police suspect that the passage, which provides a route from the house to an outdoor spot 100 metres away, was created to transport drugs and other illegal items, and evade police arrest. Was it going under a police checkpoint? At only 100 meters long, it certainly wasn't a drug smuggling highway was it? According to the OP it didn't even link two buildings, providing a route from the house to an outdoor spot........................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChipButty Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Cant build tunnels like Ho Chi Min Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sungod Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 'Chang the Dragon', don't you just love these names. Why are no criminals called Bob, or even Ron or Reg? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burma Bill Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 The constructor certainly had "tunnel vision"! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UnkleGoooose Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 "Officers impounded the property". I'm sure they did. Merry Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redline Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 18 hours ago, mok199 said: So much brass their ,yet they managed to shake me down at a road block today..Where do they get the time? There are around 220,000 and I personally see hardly any in BKK or Chiang Mai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kieran00001 Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 9 hours ago, Lungstib said: Dont you just love how it fits Thailand narrative better if he is a Burmese. If he truly holds a Thai passport (and its pretty amazing that no-one can confirm it) then he is a Thai citizen. And Songkittikul sure sounds Thai. But those pesky Burmese...... He is Myanmarese and it is believed that he has a Thai passport and has entered Thailand at Mae Sot, no one is saying that he obtained that Thai passport legally, I expect they have the CCTV footage from the border. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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