Crime
Ecuadorian Woman Arrested at Bangkok Airport with 2.3 Kilo’s of Cocaine Hidden in Beauty Products
2.3 kilos of cocaine was found hidden in shampoo and skin cream bottles in the woman’s luggage.
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BANGKOK – Thai Narcotics police and customs officials has arrested a 56 year-old Ecuadorian woman after trying to enter Thailand with six jars of moisturising cream mixed with cocaine in her luggage.
Jenny Pacheco, 56, from Ecuador, was apprehended at Suvarnabhumi airport when she arrived on a Royal Dutch Airlines flight from Lima, Peru, on Monday afternoon.
Narcotics police and customs officials searched her luggage and discovered six large jars of moisturising cream laced with cocaine, weighing 2.3 kg, said Wutthipong Phetkamnerd, the narcotics officer leading the case.
Wutthipong said the cocaine was mixed in with the skin moisturising lotion — a new smuggling tactic to avoid arrest,” he told reporters, without detailing how the would-be traffickers intended to extract the cocaine from the lotion.
Ms Pacheco allegedly confessed to drug smuggling, and said she was to deliver the cocaine to a Russian man, according to Thai Media, Manger Online.
Russian national Shabanov Mikhail, 31, was found in possession with 278,320 baht, 31,700 roubles, denied any knowledge of a drug delivery.
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After her arrest the woman led police to a Russian man who was waiting for her at a hotel and arrested Russian national Shabanov Mikhail, 31, at a hotel room in Lad Krabang district of Bangkok. They also seized 278,320 baht, 31,700 Russian roubles and US$100 US from the suspect.
Both Mr. Mikhail and Ms.Pacheco have been detained while officers investigate the case — the latest drug bust in a country that serves as a key transit stop for contraband.
Officers are investigating whether the cocaine was bound for a network of Bangkok high society figures and celebrities.
Last month Thai cops arrested 42-year-old Xaysana Keopimpha, a Laotian who they allege is a high level drug dealer behind a network that ran drugs from the Golden Triangle through Thailand and into Malaysia.
Source: The Nation, Bangkok Post, Manager Online
