Chiang Rai News
Myanmar to Deport 5 Drug Gang Members From Border Town of Tachileik
CHIANG RAI – Five key members of a drug gang in Thailand are among 81 Thais, who will be deported from Myanmar, Police Colonel Ekkorn Bussababordin, the immigration chief of Chiang Rai, said Thursday.
Eighty-one Thais including 48 men and 33 women were arrested during raids by Myanmar police in Tachileik township, Shan State, opposite Mae Sai district in Chiang Rai Province on Feb 3, 2019.
They were detained for questioning in Mong Hsat and were charged for illegally entering Myanmar.
However, Punnawit Prathum, the leader of the drug ring, known by his Facebook Name, Theppabut Solo, who fled to Myanmar remains at large.
He was also wanted for masterminding an assault of a 17-year-old boy in Khon Kaen over a drug payment dispute, leading to his death.
The beating was recorded and posted on social network.
The network is not the big gang but it is threatening because they sell the illegal drugs online to young people, said Thai Immigration Police Chief Surachet Hakparn.