Thai Police Charge Two Malaysians For Carrying Drugs At Suvarnabhumi Airport

[webfact]

Thai police charge two Malaysians for drugs

BANGKOK, January 19, 2011 (AFP) - Thai anti-narcotics officers have separately arrested and charged two Malaysian men from the same gang carrying drugs at Bangkok's main airport this week, police said Wednesday.

Yeoh Thean Hong, 44, was nabbed at Suvarnabhumi Airport on Monday after he landed from the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai with five kilos (11 pounds) of crystallised methamphetamine, or "ice", hidden in his luggage.

Police said they detained the second man, 33-year-old John Lim Kok Leng, at the airport on Tuesday night as he was about to depart for Jakarta. He was found carrying four kilos (8.8 pounds) of the same drug.

Both men have been charged with possession of drugs for trafficking, which carries a maximum penalty of the death, while the second suspect was slapped with the additional charge of smuggling drugs out of the country.

"Based on our investigation, they are in same gang but have different roles. They said they were paid 150,000 baht (4,920 dollars) per trip, whether domestic or overseas," said Major Ronnakorn Sukmongkol, who made the arrests.

Thai police began a nationwide crackdown on drug users and traffickers last month, conducting thousands of searches and arresting more than 21,000 people in the first two weeks.

Thailand, along with other countries in the region, has seen a marked increase in seizures of methamphetamine as the world opiate trade declines.

-- (c) Copyright AFP 2011-01-19

[webfact]

I have removed 2 "hang em' high" posts made by the same member.

A 14d suspension is in store if that happens for the 3rd time.

I hope my message is clear

[TAWP]

They were not bringing drugs into Thailand, they were moving Ice from Chiang Mai to Jakarta...that is out of Thailand.

[bangon04]

Can't help thnking that it must be safer overland than through the airport, even though there are no official customs inspections between ChiangMai and Bangkok.

But this doesn't sound like a normal customs bust, so it is easy to assume that they were the sacrificial offering to get the others through.

[gk10002000]

Can't help thnking that it must be safer overland than through the airport, even though there are no official customs inspections between ChiangMai and Bangkok.

But this doesn't sound like a normal customs bust, so it is easy to assume that they were the sacrificial offering to get the others through.

Yeah. It would be interesting to track their status and see where these two people end up. I also was wondering why one would risk flying into the airport, especially if his final destination was Bangkok. Perhaps he was going to continue onwards and we just didn't get all the dtails. Maybe they thought that if you were then flying out somewhere it was better to just transfer the luggage versus bringing the luggage in from curbside. Either way, whether they were aware of their "pre arranged" setup or not, taking the risk for $4,000 USD is nuts. You might easily not survive the "temporary" incarceration, trial negotiations etc, while you release was arranged. I always wonder how much pressure they were under, either financially or personally etc. Were their families being threatened back home? Was this just some not smart people trying to make some money?