2 Foreigners Nabbed In Joint Thai-US Police Drug Raid In Bangkok

[webfact]

2 Africans Nabbed in Ladprao Drug Raid

BANGKOK: -- Thai police and US anti-drug officials raided a suspected hideout of foreign drug dealers at an apartment in the Ladprao area and seized five kilograms of marijuana sticks along with some ice pills. Two suspects were arrested, one of whom broke his leg while fleeing.

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

The police searched all ten rooms that were rented by the suspected drug dealers and found traces of illicit drugs, five kilograms of marijuana sticks and some crystal meth in a small plastic bag left in a toilet bowl.

Two suspects were arrested, namely 28-year-old Guinean national Lawuvic Uwadiegwu and 32-year-old Nigerian Chukwudi Onwuka.

Uwadiegwu broke his leg after jumping from his room to escape the police and is currently in hospital.

-- Tan Network 2012-02-29

[webfact]

African suspects nabbed in drug crackdown

BANGKOK, Feb 29 – African drug suspects were arrested Wednesday with marijuana and crystal methamphetamine, also known as ‘ice,’ at an apartment in Bangkok’s Bang Kapi district in a joint Thai-US drug suppression operation.

Eighty Thai Narcotics Suppression Bureau and Immigration Police Bureau officers and US Drug Enforcement Administration agents on Wednesday morning raided 12 targeted rooms at an apartment building in Bang Kapi. The police raid followed being tipped off that the apartment was being used to store illicit drugs and was a hideout for drug users.

While inspecting the rooms, the officials found five kilogrammes of marijuana hidden in Room 305 and that Lawic Uwadiegwu, a Guinean national, tried to escape arrest by jumping from a balcony.

Mr Uwadiegwu broke his leg, however, and was detained by police.

According to the initial investigation, the suspected drug dealer’s girlfriend said that Mr Uwadiegwu smuggled marijuana to sell to tourists and customers living in the apartment and nearby areas. His girlfriend was treated as a witness for the case.

In a related development, the police apprehended another African man in Room 508 of the same complex while he was attempting to flush crystal meth down a toilet.

Apart from the drug-related arrests, the police found some 10 Africans with expired tourist visas, while some had no passports. All were detained and sent to the Immigration Police Bureau for further investigation. (MCOT online news)

-- TNA 2012-02-29

[ChiangMaiThai]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

[ashbee]

I'm very surprised they published this. If the DEA was involved they were surely looking for a bigger fish. For the record the DEA has been operating in Thailand since the 70's.

[KRS1]

Its about dam_n time the Thai police is finally cracking down on these scumbags. Not only do they sell drugs in their own countries, they travel to Thailand to corrupt even more people.

[happysanook]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

I was thinking the same thing.

you've got to be shitting me. 50 + the DEA for 5 kilos of gonja. there goes at least $200k in the toilet.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[bobmac10]

wow, five whole kilos of marijuana!!!!

The DEA have outdone themselves this time, I wonder how much time and money was spent on this bust?

Why aren't they getting the ya bah that's coming in from Burma????

To hard methinks.

Easier gig hanging around Bankok.

[belg]

did not know DEA has any powers here... but they should clean out all the streets, one by one of those drug selling scum, even they find some of their own people doing the dealing

[ThaiSold]

Really think they needed the DEA? Don't think so, anyone could have followed these guys home by simply walking down Sukhumvit. more to the story.

[harleyclarkey]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Possibly over the top but then did they just arrive at the wrong time? If it was 5kg of that filty drug "ice" then that would have been a good hit.

[monty1412]

I'm very surprised they published this. If the DEA was involved they were surely looking for a bigger fish. For the record the DEA has been operating in Thailand since the 70's.

Why surprised ???.... offer up a few foreign nationals to satisfy the DEA.... same thing happened in China when I lived there.. big crackdown with foreign police on counterfeiting.. guess what the local big boys were not caught rather two Hungarian bootleggers selling afew CD's were nabbed and splashed all over the papers... of course the big fish are not nabbed here..... leave it to general interpretation as to why but let me just postulate that perhaps their was not allot of side revenue distribution associated with these African's activities so no real harm taking them down.

[thailandist]

WOW! Africans in Bangkok selling drugs?

Surely they can't be talking about the same African guys who openly ask people walking by if they want to buy drugs.

[connda]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

12 lbs of pot? Major drug bust there dudes. Maybe the DEA wanted a vacation to the LOS on the taxpayer's dime

[anterian]

"10 Africans with expired tourist visas, while some had no passports." Does that means they don't have to do 90 day reports, is that just for the good guys?

[Fatherfluffybottom]

50 police officers and members of DEA find 5 kilo's of Marijuana and 'some' ice pills!!

not have bigger fish to fry?

[falangjim]

Five Kg? That's it? Eighty police officers? Not exactly a sting worth of print. And yes, it's troubling walking down Sukhumvit and seeing these guys peddling their wares during the day. Come on BIB, get a clue.

[BigJohnnyBKK]

DEA probably helped provide intelligence, but the locals did the actual take-down.

Hence the low numbers reported in the haul.

Or they were paying protection and got advance warning, just a couple low-level mules sacrificed.

[newsweird]

Nice public service announcement.

[KRS1]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

I was thinking the same thing.

you've got to be shitting me. 50 + the DEA for 5 kilos of gonja. there goes at least $200k in the toilet.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Its more important to take down the network then the supplier..you will never be able to stop the supplier, whenever someone comes down someone will take their place.

When you take down a network you have to reconnect. You can rest assured that BIB has taken record of every single phone number that has gone in and out of their cell phones. This is only the beginning of the crackdown.

There will be a common phone number between all of those arrested and that will be the number of the supplier.

If youve been getting stuff from an african, dont only change your number - get an entirely different phone, your IMEI number is already recorded. The majority of bust are performed by utilizing cell records, tapping and triangulating location only after months of surveillance to gather further evidence to bust other people.

[ChiangMaiThai]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

I was thinking the same thing.

you've got to be shitting me. 50 + the DEA for 5 kilos of gonja. there goes at least $200k in the toilet.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Taxpayer money so I guess they could care less. Makes them feel big and important in a war that they will never, ever win.

[Jayman]

Why is US tax money going to fund the DEA for this kind of operation. What a waste of tax dollars.

[annegirl]

Just out of interest; both of the guys are Nigerians. The one with the Guinea passport just used it for more easier access to travel as Nigeria image is already criminalized but he is not smart enough as he is using a Nigerian Name for a Guinea passport. Uwadiegwu is an ibo-east Nigerian name.

I do not have a problem with people doing drugs. but i do have a problem with those involving others e.g dragging the name of innocent other African country whom most people know they do not do drug into the mud by using their passport.

Yes am a Nigerian but this is just not right. If you must do drug, do it alone, enjoy the benefit and suffering alone unfortunately everybody have to pay for this scumbags including those who do not do drugs.

[BigRick]

Fifty guys to get 10 pounds of weed? That is a once a week Highway patrol bust on the I-5 corridor between California and Washington.state. As a US citizen I wonder how much it cost to get 20,000$ worth of drugs off the street of a foreign country helping arrest foreign nationals of another Nation? I am sure airfare is not cheap these guys are not getting a 30 baht a deal meal budget and I am also sure they are not staying in a 4000 baht a month room.

[Rosco911]

Decoy for the real boys.

[fred110]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

It was a lot more until the BIB got there.

[lifeincnx]

wow, five whole kilos of marijuana!!!!

The DEA have outdone themselves this time, I wonder how much time and money was spent on this bust?

Why aren't they getting the ya bah that's coming in from Burma????

To hard methinks.

Easier gig hanging around Bankok.

Actually they really don't have to go far as sleepy, agricultural Fang, just North of Chiang Mai, is the meth distribution epicenter of Thailand.

Edited February 29, 2012 by NomadTad

[GooEng]

a joint effort between thai cops and the mighty DEA and all they dig up is two west african drug suppliers with a few keys of pot and a personal amount of ice. incredible!!

if a joint effort bewteen these clowns along with TAT and the immigration goons could find me two west african tourists in the whole of thailand THEN i'd be really surprised.

Edited February 29, 2012 by GooEng

[Deaw]

I'm very surprised they published this. If the DEA was involved they were surely looking for a bigger fish.

maybe these were the guys and they were just running low on product

[TackyToo]

Some 50 narcotics suppression and immigration police, along with US Drug Enforcement Administration officials, raided an apartment located at Soi Ladprao 132 in Bangkapi District after a tip-off that a number of African men suspected of drug-dealing were hiding there.

Well done Thai Police and DEA!!! 5kg of marijiana and some pills. Don't you have anything better to do?

probably "dealing" in that matter

[witsawakorn]

wow, five whole kilos of marijuana!!!!

The DEA have outdone themselves this time, I wonder how much time and money was spent on this bust?

Why aren't they getting the ya bah that's coming in from Burma????

To hard methinks.

Easier gig hanging around Bankok.

I would guess that the DEA's remit is to prevent stuff from getting into the US. Yaa Baa coming into Thailand from Burma wouldn't be of interest if that is the case. Perhaps in this case they were just showing cooperation with theThai police as a PR exercise or to silence critics back home who are asking why they had people here so long with no visible results. Who knows? .