Crime
Taiwanese Man Sentenced to Life Imprisonment for Heroin Smuggling
Chen was arrested at Don Mueang airport on April 26 after police found 5.6kg of heroin hidden in 18 tins labelled prickly heat powder as he was about to board a flight to Taiwan.
A Taiwanese man has been sentenced to life imprisonment for trying to smuggle 5.6 kilos of heroin. He was arrested in April at Thailand’s Don Mueang airport in April.
The Criminal Court passed sentence on Chen Kuan Lin, 38, a Taiwanese national, on Wednesday.
Prosecutors charged him with having heroin in his possession with intent to sell and also trying to smuggle heroin out of the country.
Chen was arrested at Don Mueang airport on April 26 after police found 5.6kg of heroin. It was hidden in 18 tins labelled prickly heat powder as he was about to board a flight to Taiwan.
He came to Thailand on April 13 and was hired 30,000 baht by an unidentified person.
The arrests were made after Taiwanese police had asked for cooperation from the Thai police to crack down the drug smuggling. Some of the gang members had been earlier arrested in Taiwan.
If the heroin was smuggled into Taiwan, the street value will cost 100 times, higher than the price in Thailand.
The court initially handed down a death sentence, commuted to life imprisonment because he confessed.
Source: Bangkok Post
