Report Police Capture Woman Involved in Major Methamphetamine Smuggling Operation

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Picture courtesy of Matichon

 

A woman linked to a significant drug trafficking network in Thailand, transporting 200,000 methamphetamine pills from the north to the south, has been apprehended after evading capture by fleeing into the forest. Faced with the operation's collapse and fearing for her safety, she later surrendered to the authorities.

 

On June 10, under the directive of Police Major General Witaya Sriprasert, Police Colonel Phataravut Onchuay and Police Lieutenant Colonel Theerapong Khongkhiow coordinated the surrender of 49-year-old Somjit (surname withheld) at a petrol station in the Na Reng subdistrict, Nopphitam district, Nakhon Si Thammarat province. Somjit was wanted by Thung Song Provincial Court since June 4 for serious drug-related offences, including conspiracy and intent to distribute methamphetamine, a category 1 narcotic.

 

Earlier evidence linked Somjit to a large drug seizure in April when the Nakhon Si Thammarat Border Patrol Police 427 apprehended 28-year-old Chanjira with 242,400 methamphetamine pills in Khao Khao subdistrict. Packages originating from Chiang Mai with Somjit's name as the sender were found at the scene. Chanjira was meant to deliver the drugs to an individual named Wut in Thung Yai district before her arrest, leading police to target Somjit as the key distributor.

 

Police efforts to capture Somjit intensified after these discoveries. She initially eluded capture by escaping into the forest, fearing retaliation from the criminal network she worked for. Eventually, she contacted her relatives, who facilitated her safe surrender to law enforcement.

 

During her interrogation, Somjit partially confessed, revealing her recruitment by a man named Baw in March. She was promised 50,000 baht (approximately US$1,530) to travel to Chiang Mai, pick up and dispatch the packages to the southern network. Upon discovering the packages, she used a private delivery service to send them under her name to Thung Song district. After the interception by police, fearing the network's retribution, she hid in the forest.

 

Somjit's cooperation in turning herself in allowed police to take her into custody at Thung Song police station, where she will face further legal proceedings. This case continues to highlight the complexities and dangers involved in the illicit drug trade, underscoring the ongoing efforts of Thai law enforcement to dismantle such networks.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-06-11