New Zealander Taylor Grainger Arrested on Drug Charges in Phuket

 

PHUKET – New Zealander Taylor Grainger who has reportedly been arrested on drugs charges in Phuket is the third man from New Zealander to face drug allegations in Asian countries in recent weeks.

The Phuketwan said a New Zealand man named by Thai police as Taylor Grainger, 41, had been charged with possession of drugs on the holiday island of Phuket.

Police in the west coast holiday hub of Patong said Grainger was arrested with two packs of ya bah methamphetamine amounting to 1.2 grams, and 0.95g of cocaine, Phuketwan reported on Christmas Day.

Police on Phuket had been conducting a week-long blitz on drugs since December 20.

On December 1, Whanganui beneficiary Antony de Malmanche, 52, was arrested at Bali’s Denpasar airport, allegedly with 1.7kg of methamphetamine in his backpack. He faces drug trafficking charges and has hired a legal team with experience defending foreigners from drug charges. De Malmanche said he was the victim of an online dating scam involving a fictitious woman called Jessie.

Peter Gardner, 25, was detained in China in November. Chinese customs authorities said two items of his luggage checked in to a flight from Guangzhou to Sydney were found to contain 30kg of methamphetamine. His Australian travelling companion Kalynda Davis, 22, was released and returned to Sydney after 30 days in detention. Gardner holds New Zealand and Australian citizenship and lives in Sydney.