Acting on information extracted from drug dealers previously arrested, officers had details of the next large delivery, and stopped the suspect riding a motorbike near the Ko En curve on Thepkrassattri Rd in Mai Khao.
The man, Thiwasak “Champ” Janniyom, 29, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat, was riding a Yamaha SR400 with no license plate. Police searched him.
“Officers found 8,000 ya bah pills separately packed in 40 small plastic bags in a bag slung across his chest under his jacket,” said Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Patchara Boonyasit, in a media conference this morning (October 29).
“Ya bah sells on the street for B250 a pill, so the total valued of this haul is about B2 million,” he noted.
Thiwasak told the press, “This was the first time I had delivered drugs. Normally I work as a rubber tapper Chumporn. I could not afford my monthly bills, so when Kittichai “Roon” Onpetkong offered me a job making a delivery to a man named “Seua” for B5,000, I took it.
“I picked up the drugs from Tung Song in Nakhon Sri Thammarat and the rode the bike through Krabi, Lam Tub in Phang Nga and came into Phuket through the Tah Chat Chai check point.”
Asked who “Seua” is, Gen Patchara said cryptically that he is a person “who loves to read newspapers” and is now under investigation by Phuket Provincial Police.
He added that it had been established that the drugs had been ordered from a prisoner in Nakhon Sri Thammarat Provincial Prison.
“It is not a big deal for me to ask coordination from police in Nakhon Sri Thammarat because I used to be the commander there,” he added.
In addition to the drugs police seized Thiwasak’s motorbike and his Nokia mobile phone. He was charged with possession of a Category 1 narcotic with intent to sell.
This is the second significant drug bust in Phuket recently, the other being a haul of B9 million worth of crystal methamphetamine trafficked by a drug ring led by an unidentified woman, “Ms Bee”, who is also in prison.
“This is another network sending drugs to Phuket and our investigation is ongoing. As for the Ms Bee network, all I can can just reveal is that she is doing time in Ratchaburi Prison. Police will question her as soon as we have strong enough evidence,” Gen Patchara added.
“It is not just small dealers who are being arrested in Phuket, but also big dealers linked to prisons in Thailand. More and more suspects will be arrested as fast as possible,” he said.
“Drugs are a national issue that I was assigned to get rid of. All drug users, dealers and networks must be expunged from our country.”
He warned, “If you are selling drugs in Phuket, you will see me soon.”