Thailand’s customs officials at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport have seized 4kg of heroin and arrested 4 men from Hong Kong after the drugs were discovered hidden inside snack boxing in their suitcases.

Pol. Lt. Gen. Phanurat Lakboon, Secretary-General of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), together with the Customs Department and Suvarnabhumi Airport, held a press conference announcing the arrest yesterday.

The ONCB Secretary-General said in a joint investigation between the ONCB and the Hong Kong Narcotics Suppression Police, they followed the movement of the four Chinese drug smugglers who acted as drug coordinators, drug controllers and drug transporters.

According to Hong Kong Narcotics Suppression Police, they were members of a Chinese drug syndicate responsible for smuggling heroin from Thailand to Hong Kong. It was discovered that the four men would travel to Thailand and stay separately at hotels in the Huai Khwang and Ramkhamhaeng areas of Bangkok.

Drug Smugglers from Hong Kong Busted

The suspects were arrested after a coordinated effort of relevant agencies, including the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Customs Department, and military intelligence of the 1st Army Operations Center.

The suspects who were under surveillance and they receive the suitcases from a sedan that stopped next to the hotel they were staying in the Huai Khwang area. It is believed that the suitcase contained drugs.

Around 7:00 p.m., the four suspects went their separate ways to Suvarnabhumi Airport. When they arrived at the airport, the officers found that the four suspects went to the bathroom together, leading them to believe they were transporting drugs to Hong Kong.

Drug Smugglers from Hong Kong Busted

Customs officers identified themselves and ordered their suitcases go through the X-ray checkpoint. The X-ray found 40 bars of heroin, weighing a total of approximately 14 kilograms, hidden in a snack box inside their suitcases. All four suspects were immediately arrested.

The ONCB secretary-general told the press briefing that in the past, there had been a network of Hong Kong Chinese who had attempted to smuggle heroin from Thailand to Hong Kong in a similar manner many times.

On June 23rd, the Customs officers arrested four other Hong Kong Chinese suspects at Suvarnabhumi Airport with 14 kilograms of heroin packed in their suitcases, ready to travel to Hong Kong.