The series of arrests began with officers taking into custody Kitti Phenrak, 28, from Phang Nga, at the Phuket Checkpoint at 9:50pm last Sunday night (Dec 2), Tha Chatchai Police Chief Col Prawit Sutthiruang-arun announced today (Dec 7).
Present of the announcement was Adm Vitharnaratch Kesanee, Chief of Staff at the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command, based at Cape Panwa, on Phuket’s southeast coast.
Kitti was driving a white Phuket-registered Toyota Vios onto the island when police officers at the check point asked him to pull over and requested to inspect the car, Col Prawit explained.
Inside the car, officers found six packs containing an estimated 60,000 pills of ya bah, with each brown paper pack emblazoned with the number 9999.
Two packs of the drugs were found in the driver’s door, two packs were found under the driver’s seat and another two packs were found hidden under the mat in the driver’s side footwell.
Officers also found 22 pills of ya bah in the blue plastic packs and about one kilogram of ya ice in a green tea packet hidden under the front passenger seat.
Kitti was charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell, and questioned further.
During questioning by police, Kitti agreed to confess to the charge in order to have his sentence reduced. In doing so, he also co-operated with police by giving them information that led to the arrest of two more suspects, Col Prawit explained today.
Subsequently, officers from the Phuket Provincial Police Investigation Division and the Phang Nga Provincial Police Investigation Division, as well as from the Region 8 Police Narcotics Control Office arrested the two suspects in Phang Nga on Monday (Dec 3), he said.
Apichart Kotsab was arrested in Kapong District, Phang Nga, at 4:30pm. Officers making the arrest also seized an estimated 38,000 pills of ya bah and two kilograms of ya ice.
At 7pm that night, officers arrested Manit Phomchun in Takua Pa District, Phang Nga. Officers making that arrest seized an estimated 44,000 pills of ya bah.
Apichart was taken to Kapong Police Station, while Manit was taken to Takua Pa Police Station. Both were charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell.
Both Apichart and Manit – and the drugs seized in placing them under arrest – will he handed over to the Tha Chatchai Police so that they can be processed as a single case, Col Prawit explained.