Man arrested after police find huge haul of yaba stashed in his car

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Man arrested after police find huge haul of yaba stashed in his car

Image: Dailynews.co.th

CHUMPHON : A man was arrested on Tuesday after police found 486,000 yaba pills hidden inside a secret compartment in his car.

Police alledge that Rakchat Khantee, 27, from Udon Thani was involved in smuggling the drugs across the border and into Malaysia, reports Daily News.

Mr Rakchat was pulled over by police at a checkpoint on the south bound Phetkasem Road.

In addition to the haul of pills, police also found approximately two kilograms of crystal meth inside the vehicle.

Mr Rakchat allegedly confessed to police that he had been paid one million baht to transport the drugs from Nakhon Phanom to the southern province of Narathiwat, where he was due to meet a Malaysian man to hand over the drugs.

Mr Rakchat said a woman from Laos paid him the money and that this was the second time he had made such a trip transporting drugs.

Police estimate the drugs have a street value of close to 45 million Baht.

Mr Rakchat remains in custody as police continue with their investigation.

-- 2015-10-21

[amerasianex]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

[pinkpanther99]

Everyday you read about busts for yaba and meth, and it isn't just little bits of it either.

Is there a meth crisis in Thailand?

To be honest I hadn't really heard of yaba before I came here but from reading the news there seems to be a hell of a lot of it about!!

[Just1Voice]

He had all that in his car? What the hell kind of car was he driving, a limo?

[jaltsc]

Obviously, the powers that be have done absolutely nothing to curb the demand for yaba. As long as there is a large number of people hooked and who are willing to buy the product, there will always be someone producing and selling it. Next week there will probably be 10 times more than the product in this bust which will successfully be produced, transported and sold.

As with the rest of the education system in Thailand, substance abuse awareness and preventative education is non existent. Not that this should be a surprise since substance abuse programs in many western countries have met with minimal success. Perhaps the main difference is that in Thailand, they place the blame solely on the producer and ignore to socio-economic issues which are mainly responsible for the demand.

Edited October 21, 2015 by jaltsc

[jspill]

I knew a bargirl that had no idea it had negative effects for the body. They just thought it was fun to take then go out partying, helped with weight loss, and cleared up spots. And denied that it was physically addictive. I googled 'faces of meth' and showed her what it would eventually do to her, and found some Thai webpages (there aren't many) explaining it further. She said she'd stop.

At the least if they're beyond help you can try to steer them towards cannabis as an alternative, as while still illegal here (give it another generation and it probably won't be) it has zero health risks and it's not physically addictive. Her perception of cannabis was 'old man's drug' and 'boring' because it made you sleepy as opposed to meth. After trying it it grew on her a bit.

Edited October 21, 2015 by jspill

[smedly]

I don't believe his story, he is protecting someone, why take it across the border when there is a huge market in Thailand

[Colabamumbai]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

What execute all the Army Generals?

[toooa]

Obviously, the powers that be have done absolutely nothing to curb the demand for yaba. As long as there is a large number of people hooked and who are willing to buy the product, there will always be someone producing and selling it. Next week there will probably be 10 times more than the product in this bust which will successfully be produced, transported and sold.

As with the rest of the education system in Thailand, substance abuse awareness and preventative education is non existent. Not that this should be a surprise since substance abuse programs in many western countries have met with minimal success. Perhaps the main difference is that in Thailand, they place the blame solely on the producer and ignore to socio-economic issues which are mainly responsible for the demand.

That's just the tip of the iceberg no doubt...it might be fair to say that the war on drugs has had only one effect...more drugs. Of course the fight isn't really about protecting the public is it...? Only the highly gullible believe that narrative.

[Travelman868]

Everyday you read about busts for yaba and meth, and it isn't just little bits of it either.

Is there a meth crisis in Thailand?

To be honest I hadn't really heard of yaba before I came here but from reading the news there seems to be a hell of a lot of it about!!

Yes there is a BIG problem in Thailand. Ya Ba means mad and that is exactly what is does. Mix Meth and Caffeine an you got Ya Ba.

[AdamRich]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

The same can be said about alcohol and many other things. If you are an adult then you be able to pick your own poison. And if you can not use your poison responsibly then you should face the consequences.

[smedly]

The big problem in Thailand is purely down to law enforcement - there actually is no police force as we understand it in the west - money drives every greedy aspect of this country, there is nothing goes on here that does not involve money, it is probably one of the most warped corrupt countries in the world, the corruption might be less or more right now but the bottom line is simple - the people and the constitution need to call the wrong doers to account, the constitution needs to be written in such a way that it is nearly impossible to change or abuse, I know what needs to be done but then my actions (according to some) would be me being a dictator.....

I fault the current PM for concentrating and becoming obsessive, he needs to wind his neck in and get on with the job at hand, too much childish nonsense going on - he has lost my support and I no longer think he will be able to complete the task he started, a worthy task but he needs to pass over to someone that can finish what he started - is there such a person in Thailand ? I don't know but what I do know is that Prayuth Chan (O) Cha is not the one - I am convinced of that 100% - my advice - start looking for a none military PM that can continue your mandate - you are not the one

Reform before elections is still the goal - it is needed

[smedly]

the glaringly obvious truth is that the drug trade in this country is the single biggest earner by a country mile, what is also glaringly obvious is the lack of convictions or connections to the most corrupt organisation in this country - I can join the dots , there are some that are unusually rich, the ex now jailed CDI chief was involved in human trafficing - what I found most interesting was his none involvement in drugs (the really big earner) it is so big that they can afford to drop the odd huge haul here and there worth millions of baht and eveveryone thinks oh what a great job they are doing lol............the guy driving the truck that they put on display is just that - a truck driver

[smedly]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

The same can be said about alcohol and many other things. If you are an adult then you be able to pick your own poison. And if you can not use your poison responsibly then you should face the consequences.

what a stupid post that is, I drink I have a hangover

People take meth - it starts to eat the body and brain in horrible ways and renders the user unable to think, I hope "Adam" that your seeming defence of this highly destructive drug has not in any way made you "Rich"

[AdamRich]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

The same can be said about alcohol and many other things. If you are an adult then you be able to pick your own poison. And if you can not use your poison responsibly then you should face the consequences.

what a stupid post that is, I drink I have a hangover

People take meth - it starts to eat the body and brain in horrible ways and renders the user unable to think, I hope "Adam" that your seeming defence of this highly destructive drug has not in any way made you "Rich"

What you are missing is that the habitual and frequent use/misuse of anything is what what messes up the body and brain. It is not just the occaisional use. If you go into the kitchen right now and drink 6 liters of water in one sitting then you shall surely die from hyponatremia. If you drink 1/2 liter of whiskey everyday then eventually your liver will give out. If you frequently overeat then you will die from complications of obesity. If you use meth once every two weeks then there is not a damn thing that will happen to you. But if you do it frequently that is where the problem comes in along with any other addiction. Not everyone who uses a particular substance becomes addicted to said substance.

[DrTuner]

Go the Branson/UNODC way and that 45M would be 45K, mules out of work.

[simple1]

Obviously, the powers that be have done absolutely nothing to curb the demand for yaba. As long as there is a large number of people hooked and who are willing to buy the product, there will always be someone producing and selling it. Next week there will probably be 10 times more than the product in this bust which will successfully be produced, transported and sold.

As with the rest of the education system in Thailand, substance abuse awareness and preventative education is non existent. Not that this should be a surprise since substance abuse programs in many western countries have met with minimal success. Perhaps the main difference is that in Thailand, they place the blame solely on the producer and ignore to socio-economic issues which are mainly responsible for the demand.

The shipment was heading for Malaysia. Malaysian police once told me Malaysia has a huge problem with cross border illegal drug shipments from Thailand. Obviously doesn't help that corrupt Thai officials assist the smuggling gangs in the deep South as evidenced some months back by a number of arrests.

[dageurreotype]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

You talking about Lao Khao?

[DeepInTheForest]

I don't believe his story, he is protecting someone, why take it across the border when there is a huge market in Thailand

Not to belabor the obvious, but this system called capitalism that we toil under, whether we are criminal or law-abiding, is based on the notion of compound growth, for which expanding markets are a temporary fix. Ultimately, of course, compound growth is an impossibility. But as yet, we seemingly cannot allow ourselves to admit that.

Edited October 23, 2015 by DeepInTheForest

[vogie]

Find them all execute them all. Thu are killing thousands with that poison...

The same can be said about alcohol and many other things. If you are an adult then you be able to pick your own poison. And if you can not use your poison responsibly then you should face the consequences.

what a stupid post that is, I drink I have a hangover

People take meth - it starts to eat the body and brain in horrible ways and renders the user unable to think, I hope "Adam" that your seeming defence of this highly destructive drug has not in any way made you "Rich"

What you are missing is that the habitual and frequent use/misuse of anything is what what messes up the body and brain. It is not just the occaisional use. If you go into the kitchen right now and drink 6 liters of water in one sitting then you shall surely die from hyponatremia. If you drink 1/2 liter of whiskey everyday then eventually your liver will give out. If you frequently overeat then you will die from complications of obesity. If you use meth once every two weeks then there is not a damn thing that will happen to you. But if you do it frequently that is where the problem comes in along with any other addiction. Not everyone who uses a particular substance becomes addicted to said substance.

I don't think we are missing anything, I will take my chance with six litres of water as opposed to yaba, I dont think drinking water will make you want to kill your parents. Have you seen a yaba clinic, its much worse than the film 'A Clockwork Orange'!