Crime Police Capture Drug Dealer, Arrested After Fleeing Across Border

[Georgealbert]

 

Picture courtesy of Khaosod 

 

Authorities have arrested a notorious national-level drug dealer known as “Nut Tha Khikhek” after he fled across the border to evade capture, only to be caught after returning to Thailand.

 

On 2 June, Pol. Maj. Gen. Songklod Krikkritaya, Commander of the Department of Special Investigation for Human Trafficking and Child Protection (DSI-Human Trafficking Division), ordered Pol. Col. Sarawut Chantawong and Pol. Lt. Col. Theerachot Noonsop of the same unit to apprehend 26-year-old Mr. Natthapong in connection with a serious drug trafficking case.

 

Mr. Natthapong was wanted under a warrant issued by Nakhon Pathom Provincial Court (Case No. จ.326/2566, dated 21 June 2023) on charges including “conspiracy and involvement in serious narcotics offences” and “possession of Class 1 methamphetamine (Yaba) impacting national security.”

 

He ranked as the 94th most wanted drug suspect in 2025 by the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), with a bounty of 100,000 baht.

 

The arrest took place at a residence in Sri Maha Pho district, Prachinburi Province.

 

Investigations traced the suspect to a northern border drug trafficking network known locally as the “Mos Kolar Gang,” which smuggled drugs from the upper northern border into central Thailand, especially Nakhon Pathom and nearby provinces.

 

Mr. Natthapong, a Thai national living near the Chiang Rai border with Myanmar, was identified as a key supplier for the gang, organising drug shipments and coordinating drivers to transport drugs from the border into rented houses in Nakhon Pathom. From there, gang members distributed narcotics to smaller dealers.

 

Earlier police operations arrested 12 members of this network and seized 951,000 methamphetamine tablets valued at 50 million baht, 1,140 grams of crystal methamphetamine (ice), eight firearms, five vehicles and over three million baht in bank accounts.

 

Records found in the gang’s transaction logs showed that the drugs originated from Tachilek district, Myanmar, crossing into Chiang Rai before being moved to Nakhon Pathom, with a total estimated volume exceeding 4.6 million tablets per shipment.

 

Captured suspects implicated Mr. Natthapong as the supplier responsible for monthly shipments of over four million methamphetamine tablets for more than six months. The gang reportedly succeeded in distributing more than 100 million tablets during this period.

 

Following the issuance of an arrest warrant, Mr. Natthapong fled across the border into Myanmar to avoid capture. However, police later received intelligence placing him at a house in Prachinburi Province, where he was apprehended.

 

During questioning, the suspect denied the charges. He has been transferred to Pho Kaeo Police Station in Nakhon Pathom Province for further legal proceedings.

 

 

  Adapted by Asean Now from Khaosod 2025-06-04