NCB: West African gangs in Thailand behind post pandemic increase in drug smuggling into Thailand

[webfact]

Daily News Thai Caption: Hidden in a secret compartment

 

The secretary of the Narcotics Control Board Wanchai Chaimongkhon said that West African gangs were behind an increase in the smuggling of cocaine into Thailand.

 

Wanchai said the drug is being sold to well-heeled partygoers and foreigners in Thailand. He promised to catch those behind the smuggling.

 

So far in recent months it has just been the hapless mules with cocaine hidden in secret compartments in their luggage.

 

The latest case on Sunday was a Kenyan woman who flew into Suvarnabhumi airport from Nairobi via Doha with 1,245 grams hidden in a rear compartment of wheeled luggage, reported Daily News.

 

The authorities went to Sathon in the Thai capital where the woman was supposed to meet her contact.

 

But the bigger fish got wise to the event and escaped.

 

However, Wanchai said that his men, part of the Airport Interdiction Task Force, had information to follow up on.

 

With more people travelling since Covid restrictions were lifted comes more drugs not just in Thailand but worldwide.

 

In early April a 28 year old Thai woman was arrested with 2,352 grams of cocaine in her luggage after arriving from Istanbul.

 

Wanchai promised to arrest those behind the rise in smuggling.

 

-- © Copyright  ASEAN NOW 2023-04-18

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

 

Get your business in front of millions of customers who read ASEAN NOW with an interest in Thailand every month - email [email protected] for more information

[PleaseTypeSlow4me]

7 minutes ago, webfact said:

West African gangs were behind an increase in the smuggling of cocaine into Thailand

Might as well blame everyone else, even for the demand!!!   These African gangs probably selling only to the farang.   Yaba, blame the surrounding countries, only going through Thailand to get to Australia.   

[Gecko123]

 

Is the ASEANOW pro-cannabis lobby going to argue that that there is simply no correlation between cannabis decriminalization and reports that smuggling of harder drugs into Thailand is on the increase? That cannabis decriminalization hasn't increased actual (or at least perceived) market demand for harder drugs in Thailand? 

 

On a different note, the Daily News article's use of the word 'ช่อง' over a picture of the woman lying on the floor, appears to be making a somewhat distasteful pun that the woman had a kilo of cocaine hidden in her vagina when it was actually hidden in a secret compartment in her suitcase.

 

2 hours ago, webfact said:

West African gangs were behind an increase in the smuggling of cocaine into Thailand.

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Wanchai said the drug is being sold to well-heeled partygoers and foreigners in Thailand.

[webfact]

Kenyan woman arrested for smuggling cocaine into Thailand
by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via Facebook/ สำนักงานคณะกรรมการป้องกันและปราบปรามยาเสพติด

The Airport Interdiction Task Force (AITF) apprehended a Kenyan woman at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Sunday for smuggling cocaine into Thailand.

The Secretary of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Wichai Chaimongkon, disclosed details of the drug bust in a press conference yesterday. The AITF officers discovered 1,250 grammes of cocaine hidden in the luggage of the 45 year old Kenyan woman. The drug was hidden in a specially crafted secret pocket.

According to Wichai, the woman travelled via a transit flight from Nairobi in Kenya, to Doha in Qatar, and Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport in Thailand. The AITF arrested the woman and seized the drugs before reporting to the ONCB.

 

Following further investigations, the ONCB discovered that another person was involved in the smuggling but their identity was not revealed. The Kenyan smuggler had arranged to meet with the other suspect to transfer the cocaine at a hotel in Bangkok’s Sathorn neighbourhood.

 

However, the person became aware of the police investigation and ceased communication with the woman. Officers made known they would conduct further investigations to bring down the whole network.

 

Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/national/kenyan-woman-arrested-for-smuggling-cocaine-into-thailand

 

-- © Copyright Thaiger 2023-04-18

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

The most versatile and flexible rental investment and holiday home solution in Thailand - click for more information.

[Denim]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

On a different note, the Daily News article's use of the word 'ช่อง' over a picture of the woman lying on the floor, appears to be making a somewhat distasteful pun that the woman had a kilo of cocaine hidden in her vagina when it was actually hidden in a secret compartment in her suitcase.

In your opinion.

 

Here is a screenshot of google translate for chong lab

 

 

 

Oooo.....I've come over all Liverpool Lou like.

 

 

Edited April 18, 2023 by Denim

[phetphet]

I wonder how the "connection" got wind of the police investigation. Did the BIB all turn up en masse at the hotel in full uniform?

Or perhaps a heads up text or phone call warning  was received.

[TiltedTables]

"Or perhaps a heads up text or phone call warning  was received."

 

Probably a warning text. Most likely sent by the guys in uniform to protect their higher-level connection.

[Seppius]

The police seem to still let hard drug sales on lower Sukhumvit, Bangkok, have done for years.

[xylophone]

6 minutes ago, Seppius said:

The police seem to still let hard drug sales on lower Sukhumvit, Bangkok, have done for years.

I wonder why!! 

[n00dle]

1 hour ago, Gecko123 said:

Is the ASEANOW pro-cannabis lobby going to argue that that there is simply no correlation between cannabis decriminalization and reports that smuggling of harder drugs into Thailand is on the increase? That cannabis decriminalization hasn't increased actual (or at least perceived) market demand for harder drugs in Thailand? 

What a truly silly question. Cocaine has been available in Thailand for decades -- ever since Purachai's purge made drugs like MDMA harder to find.  

These drugs were available and popular long before cannabis became legal. For years it was easier to find a gram of coke on lower Sukhumvit than it was to find a bag of good weed.

 

The article does not claim that the market for drugs has increased, it has simply resumed since the airports reopened after COVID.

 

There are many people (professionals, thai and farang alike) that i know in BKK that ceased their recreational cocaine use due to a lack of supply. While many of them quit altogether, many others have taken it back up since availability resumed. 

[Deserted]

Strange post, everyone knows if you walk around Nana after, say 2am, you will see dozens and dozens of African dudes all wanting to sell you cocaine with prices set at 3000, 5000, and 7000. I have lost count of the amount of times I have been approached by them. The quickest way to get rid of them is to ask them what the purity level of what they are selling is, because they can't answer, they simply don't know. And with 4 decades of buying that <deleted> behind me, that is a question you really have to know the answer to before buying it. Most likely what they are selling is so heavily cut, it's rubbish, and you won't get much out of it. We had the same problem with south africans about 10 years ago, and the stuff they sold was not worth touching, and they were being helped by the police.

[n00dle]

8 minutes ago, Seppius said:

The police seem to still let hard drug sales on lower Sukhumvit, Bangkok, have done for years.

i took a walk around lower sukhumvit last night to get some air and received at least 15 offers between soi 3 and 15.

[roo860]

2 minutes ago, n00dle said:

i took a walk around lower sukhumvit last night to get some air and received at least 15 offers between soi 3 and 15.

Males?????

[hotchilli]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

So far in recent months it has just been the hapless mules with cocaine hidden in secret compartments in their luggage.

A mule or an ass... hard to tell.

[Liverpool Lou]

2 hours ago, Denim said:

Oooo.....I've come over all Liverpool Lou like.

Can only be an improvement.  

Edited April 18, 2023 by Liverpool Lou

[Gecko123]

2 hours ago, Denim said:

In your opinion.

 

Here is a screenshot of google translate for chong lab

 

 

 

Oooo.....I've come over all Liverpool Lou like.

 

 

 I said it was a pun, a double entendre. I know it means secret compartment, but 'ช่องคลอด' means vagina. Given that the photo is of a woman with her legs splayed open and not of a secret suitcase compartment, I am pretty confident that many Thai readers would initially entertain the possibility that 'ช่องลับ' or 'secret compartment' (or secret cavity, space, hole) was coyly referring to her vagina. I am thinking the sexually suggestive double entendre was used as click bait, but maybe I'm wrong.

Edited April 18, 2023 by Gecko123

[Liverpool Lou]

1 hour ago, Deserted said:

The quickest way to get rid of them is to ask them what the purity level of what they are selling is,

No, that's wrong, the quickest way to get rid of them is to not engage with them...unless you're a junkie needing a hit.

[RichardColeman]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

Kenyan woman who flew into Suvarnabhumi airport from Nairobi via Doha with 1,245 grams hidden in a rear compartment of wheeled luggage

Must be the new PC term