Wichit Police Station, working in collaboration with the Phuket Provincial Police Narcotics Suppression Division and the Phuket Provincial Police Investigation Division, confirmed the arrest late last night (Jan 9) as authorities expanded the investigation to dismantle the wider distribution network and seize assets linked to the operation.
Police said the investigation began after intelligence from the Ranong Provincial Police Narcotics Suppression Division indicated that large quantities of narcotics were being transported from central Thailand to Phuket using a private courier service, with deliveries arranged at public locations in Wichit.
Officers set up surveillance at the Flash Express service point at the Wirat Hongyok branch and the front of a Big C supermarket in Wichit. At about 2pm yesterday, police observed a 16-year-old boy arrive to collect a suspicious parcel.
After identifying themselves and conducting a search, officers discovered approximately 60,000 ya bah pills and about two kilogrammes of ya ice concealed inside the package, police reported.
During questioning, the teenager admitted he had been hired to collect the drugs by a foreign man living in Chalong and told officers he had already collected an earlier shipment the same day.
Police then expanded the operation, searching a rented room in Moo 8, Chalong, believed to be linked to the suspect. Inside the room, officers seized an additional 60,000 ya bah pills and about four kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, bringing the total haul to an estimated street value of more than B7 million.
The foreign suspect initially evaded arrest, prompting an intensified manhunt.
At 10:10pm last night, officers from the Phuket Provincial Police Narcotics Suppression Unit and the Wichit Police Station investigation team arrested the suspect and his girlfriend at a petrol station less than one kilometre before the Phuket immigration checkpoint, where the pair were waiting to drive out of the area.
Both suspects were taken to Wichit Police Station for questioning before being formally charged.
Police have since identified the foreign suspect as Gabriel John Thanes Garnet, 22, a Thai-Australian national.
Investigators revealed that the network had previously smuggled drugs using the same transport company method on several occasions. Earlier in the investigation, police arrested a man identified as ‘Mr B’, who was hired to collect narcotics shipments, following coordination with Ranong police.
Wichit Police Superintendent Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang confirmed that legal action is being taken against all suspects involved, including the juvenile, and that authorities are now working to trace financial links and seize assets connected to the trafficking network.
“This operation demonstrates close cooperation between provincial police units to dismantle major drug distribution networks operating in Phuket,” Pol Col Somsak said.
Police said the investigation remains ongoing and further arrests are possible.