Kazakhs Nabbed With Heroin In Stomachs

[george]

Kazakhs nabbed with heroin in stomachs

BANGKOK: -- Four men from Kazakhstan were arrested yesterday carrying 2.8 kilos of heroin in their stomachs.

The heroin was hermetically sealed in plastic and wrapped in adhesive tape the size of an 11mm calibre bullet. Each man carried more than 100 packages, police said.

Police suspect the men brought the drugs into Thailand and were about to leave smuggle it to a third country for sale.

The alleged offenders were identified as Bovt Sergey, 22; Tsoy Alexander, 23; Tikhonv Danil, 21; and Tarabrin Dmitriy, 21.

The suspects were stopped in a Term Tour travel van at a checkpoint in Mae Sai, jointly manned by Tham Pla police and a military task force from the Maw 3 Pa Muang force.

Police said the men appeared nervous and that their stomachs were swollen. At that point superintendent Pol Colonel Jaran Roengtham ordered the men taken into custody. The men were ordered to undergo X-rays at Mae Sai Hospital. X-rays showed small objects in their stomachs.

After the men were given an agent to help them purge the drugs, police discovered that each man was carrying more than 120 packages of the drug. Each package weighed 10 grams and contained pure heroin, police said.

Police also found Bt60,000 in cash, and four passports with visa stamps indicating they had arrived in Thailand on January 12.

Police allege the men bought the heroin for Bt200,000, but said they could sell it for 10 times that abroad. They believe the men were likely to have carried the drugs many times before. Police sought the help of interpreters from the Kazakhstan Embassy.

--The Nation 2005-01-19