Narcotics Police Seize US$3.45 Million in Assets in Northern Thailand

Police in Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai Province announced that it has seized assets worth about US$ 3Million and made an number of arrests in a couple of raids.

A Chiang Mai police spokesperson said officers from the Office of Narcotics Control Board and Department of Special Investigation, raided three establishments in Chiang Mai’s Muang district.

Two were raids offices in a luxury housing estate to run a drug-trafficking network and one was an online gambling business.

Chiang Mai Police said the raid on the drug-trafficking ring was conducted after a suspect arrested in an earlier crackdown had provided tips.

Meanwhile, police collected evidence of money laundering at the online betting site and arrested one man. Police said another suspect escaped but they would track down. They also believe another two or three persons are suspected to be involved in this illicit business.

The man detained allegedly ran the betting website and used a Thai League 2 football club and a public lottery system to launder the ill-gotten gains.

Meanwhile, in neighbouring Lampang Province NSB police arrested a man and 10 of his accomplices for drug trafficking. Seized from them were 200kg of crystal meth, seven cars, 17 mobile phones and other assets worth about US$ 450,000.00.

Police investigators earlier learned the gang smuggled illicit drugs from the North to customers in the Central Plains. They were closely watched, leading to the arrest of the 11 suspects.

Source: The Nation, CTN News