Three Malaysians were arrested at a railway station in southern Thailand after police intercepted a train from Bangkok carrying 87kg of crystal methamphetamine worth about RM4.3 million, authorities said.
The three men were caught at Hat Yai railway station during a joint operation on 3 August involving Hat Yai police’s narcotics suppression unit, the railway police, the tourist police and the Region 9 Office of the Narcotics Control Board, NST reported.
A Thai police spokesman said the suspects had been travelling on the Bangkok-Narathiwat express when officers intercepted and searched them during a security check on passengers and luggage. The search uncovered crystal methamphetamine, commonly known as syabu, hidden in three wheeled suitcases and three backpacks.
“Officers found crystal methamphetamine, or syabu, concealed in three wheeled suitcases and three backpacks,” the spokesman said. He said the drugs were believed to have been intended for delivery to a drug trafficking syndicate in Malaysia.
Malaysian authorities were also notified. Datuk Hussein Omar Khan, the director of Bukit Aman’s Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (JSJN), confirmed receiving information from the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Thailand about the arrest, Nowswav/Kosmo reported. Checks revealed the suspects had criminal histories. The 35-year-old suspect from Sarawak has nine prior records in Malaysia involving drug and criminal offences. A 36-year-old suspect has one drug record, while the third, aged 32, has two drug records.
The spokesman added that investigations are under way to identify and arrest the financiers and other accomplices in what he described as a transnational drug trafficking network operating across Thailand and abroad. The JSJN will carry out further investigations to identify the syndicate network suspected of attempting to bring the drug supply into Malaysia, Hussein said.
Initial investigations found the three suspects had each been offered RM8,000 to transport the drugs to their destination. They are being investigated under Thailand’s drug laws, the Thai spokesman said.
In a separate case in May, a 32-year-old Malaysian man was arrested in Hat Yai after authorities seized about 102kg of syabu worth more than RM5 million from a car, NST reported. The drugs were hidden inside a modified loudspeaker section in the rear boot. He was promised about 123,515 baht, or roughly RM15,000, for the job. The man was remanded at Hat Yai police station along with the seized drugs and vehicle, NST added.
