Drugs Worth US$53.8 Million Shipped Australia, Investigated by Thailand
Thai authorities are investigating a number of Thai and Cambodian nationals in connection with the shipment of illegal drugs worth more than US$53.8 million shipped by air from Thailand to Melbourne, Australia.
According to Wichai Chaimongkol, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), an unnamed party paid a limited partnership located in the southern province of Nakhon Si Thammarat for the use of its name as the sender of the cargo.
He claims that the limited partnership did not know the name of the person who contacted it via LINE and paid via cash deposit.
A Cambodian involved in the claimed transaction had fled Thailand when the transaction was tracked. He says it is not clear whether the Cambodian national was hired merely to open a bank account for transfers or was a member of the gang that sent the drugs.
In February, Australian Federal Police seized crystal methamphetamine, methamphetamine, and heroin hidden in green tea bags and magnet packages.
Australian Federal Police found 56 kilograms of methamphetamine and 13 kilograms of heroin identified in a consignment of green tea and magnets from Thailand.
Drugs Found in Green Tea Packages
ABF officers in Melbourne x-rayed a consignment containing 27 boxes of magnets and tea products that had been sent via air cargo from Thailand. A further examination revealed anomalies on the x-rays and substances testing positive for the drugs methamphetamine and heroin.
Thai NSB Authorities are searching for the person who sent the packages containing the drugs to Australia, Mr. Wichai explained.
Saying that a driver working for the company handling the shipment received the packages from the sender in Bangkok.
“Since the beginning of last year, the frequency of both crystal methamphetamine and heroin found shipped from Thailand to Australia has increased considerably,” he said.
Pol Lt Gen Sarayut Sanguanphokhai, chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, told reporters the bureau is working together with Australian police and Thai customs officials to find the smugglers of the drugs.
