Crime Man Caught Smuggling 17.6kg of Heroin Hidden in Pet Food & Coffee

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of The Standard.

 

A Thai national has been arrested at the Nong Khai border checkpoint after attempting to smuggle more than 17.6 kilograms of heroin concealed within bags of pet food and coffee. The drugs, with an estimated street value of over 61 million baht, were intercepted during a joint operation by multiple law enforcement agencies.

 

The arrest took place around 18:30 on 16 May, when the suspect, identified only as Khunakon, entered Thailand from the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, carrying two large bags. Inside were various consumer goods, including coffee and pet food. Customs officers became suspicious of the packaging and subjected the bags to an x-ray scan.

 

The scan revealed suspicious white powder hidden within five coffee bags and 13 bags of pet food, specifically cat and rabbit food. Field testing with ONCB051 reagent turned the samples purple, confirming the presence of a Category 1 narcotic, heroin.

 

Preliminary questioning revealed that Khunakon had travelled to Vientiane, Lao PDR, to seek information regarding his younger brother, who had been arrested there on charges related to the possession of e-cigarettes. While in Vientiane, he was contacted via WhatsApp by a woman named Pinthip, also known as “Eye,” who told him someone would deliver luggage for him to carry across the border.

 

At approximately 14:40 the same day, an unidentified Black male handed Khunakon the luggage and instructed him to deliver it to a domestic courier company in Songkhla province. The recipient’s information was to be provided after he had crossed into Thailand. Khunakon boarded a public bus back to Thailand and was apprehended while passing through customs.

 

Khunakon was taken into custody along with the narcotics and transferred to the investigative team for formal prosecution under the strict narcotics laws.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from The Standard 2025-05-18.