Region 8 Police Commander Maj Gen Tesa Siriwato, Phang Nga Police Chief Maj Gen Worawit Panprung and Phang Nga Vice Governor Sripong Buthdeengam held a press conference this morning (Apr 7) to announce the arrest of the four who were arrested during an ongoing anti-drug and -crime crack down.
Only two of the four were presented at the press conference and they were named as Sanong Hangtae, 37, and Jatuporn Kerdyindee, 48, who between them had in their possession a 7.65mm automatic pistol, 39,520 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and 1,031.5 grams of crystal meth (ya ice).
The other two arrested were not present at the conference as police are continuing to question them, however, they were named as Nattapong Sookkaew, 19, and Ms Patchara Jaroon, 26.
Maj Gen Tesa said at the press conference, “Drugs worth more than B6M were seized from the four and we also seized two pick up trucks, two motorbikes, one gold necklace, account books and bank cards from them.
“Drug dealers love to make deliveries during public holidays because they think police are busy with other duties,” he said.
“Phang Nga has a lot of tourist attractions and many tourists visit the area each year. Many dealers try to blend in with the crowd during festivals to carry out their illegal activities.
“The arrests were possible because of a sting operation by local police,” he added.