Thai police have arrested a 26-year-old Hong Kong man after seizing about 350 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine, known as "ice," worth an estimated 700 million baht (about HK$165 million) at a residential property in Bangkok's Min Buri district.
The raid was carried out on Monday night by the Department of Special Investigation's Crime Suppression Bureau and narcotics police at a house on Rom Klao 11 alley in the Saen Saep sub-district.
Officers found three large plastic barrels containing the drugs, along with plastic bags, cardboard boxes, electronic scales, blenders, vacuum sealers, suitcases and plastic containers.
Crime Suppression Bureau commander Major General Pattanasak Buphasuwan said the suspect is a Hong Kong resident. Media reports gave differing transliterations of his name, with the Bangkok Post reporting it as Huang Yuguan and other Thai media as Wang Yi Kuan.
Investigations showed the suspect arrived in Thailand from Kuala Lumpur on September 14 as a tourist, believed to be his first time carrying out such a task. Gang members in Thailand arranged the house for him and delivered the drugs, asking him to repackage and seal them while awaiting delivery instructions.
Police said the suspect was alone in the house when they arrived. He reportedly told investigators he was instructed to handle the drugs and would receive HK$20,000 for the work.
Police believe the property was not an ordinary stash house but a packaging and transit point for a transnational drug network, with the drugs to be repackaged and moved to a third destination. The source and final destination of the drugs are still under investigation.
The suspect has been handed over to Thailand's narcotics suppression bureau. Police are tracing those who arranged the house, transported the drugs and issued instructions, and are investigating whether more members in Thailand and overseas are involved.
Methamphetamine is a Category 1 narcotic in Thailand. Under the Narcotics Code, producing, importing, exporting, distributing or possessing Category 1 drugs for trafficking is a serious offence, with penalties including life imprisonment and, in severe cases, the death penalty.
