The arrests began last Monday and Tuesday (December 5 and 6) when two men were arrested for possession of ya ice (crystal-methamphetamine) worth around B200,000.
Pol Lt Col Jaran Bangprasert told The Phuket News that police followed alleged drug dealer Suttipong Chanalert, 26, and caught him with 21.9gm of ya ice in his pocket.
After questioning, police took Suttipong to his house in Rawai, where they found a further 18gm of the drug.
The following day police searched a bungalow in Rawai after a tipoff that teenagers there were using drugs.
Chanwut “Chan” Manopat, 30, was arrested after trying to run away from officers. Police found 30.7gm of ya ice in his pocket.
Both Suttipong and Chanwut confessed to dealing in drugs and are now in lodged in Phuket Provincial Prison.
Pol Lt Col Jaran said, “I believe the men were involved in the same network, though they denied it. The ya ice we seized is worth about B200,000 on the street.”
On Saturday (December 10), 400 kratom plants (which, when the leaves are chewed, has a mild stimulant effect) were seized from 30-year-old Prasert Tongjan in Rawai.
Prasert was arrested after villagers around a Burmese camp in Rawai told Chalong Police they suspected the man was using drugs. When arrested he admitted he used drugs and also that he sold leaves to Burmese workers.
On Sunday (December 11) three drug dealers from Loei Province, in Thailand’s north east, were arrested in Patong. Eight bags of ya ice and 200 ya ba (methamphetamine) pills were seized.
Utai Kansan, 26, Amnart Nayao, 40, and Somdetch Jampada, 40, told police that they had bought the drugs in Loei and brought them to Phuket with the intention of selling them to sell to users in Patong.