BANGKOK: Thai police detained a Malaysian, following three days of surveillance, in connection with the seizure of 65 kilogram of heroin bound for Penang.
The heroin was found inside a car the suspect and his Thai accomplice were travelling in, at the Nakhon Si Thammarat province.
A police team which intercepted the duo in the Tham Pannara district also stumbled on 300,000 Yaba pills found hidden inside the vehicle.
“The suspects intended to ferry the drugs to Hatyai and then to Satun in southern Thailand, before smuggling the drugs to its final destination in Penang,” Tham Pannara police chief Col Prawit Kheisawai said.
He said the Malaysian man, who was from Penang, had a Thai wife who lived in the Satun province. Prawit said police received a tip-off on today’s drug smuggling attempt using the southern route and waited at the pre-determined location for three days.
“After waiting for three days, police swung into action when the car finally emerged, seizing the heroin which was packed in five bags,” he said, adding that the duo confessed they were paid to transport the drugs from Ayutthaya to Hatyai.
The duo had picked up the drugs from Ayutthaya in central Thailand, said Prawit.
He said the seized heroin carried the popular “Double UO Globe” logo, a logo long associated with notorious drug syndicates in Laos.