69 individual small packages! A Nigerian man has been arrested at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after he was found to have swallowed 69 lumps of cocaine.
Khaosod English reports that the unnamed man, who had travelled from Doha, Qatar, was arrested yesterday, March 25, in a joint operation between Customs officers and the Airport Interdiction Task Force.
According to the report, the man was seen acting suspiciously on arrival at Suvarnabhumi and was singled out for a thorough check. During the process, a total of 69 small packages of cocaine were found in his body. The drugs had a combined weight of just under 1.4 kilos and were valued at over 4 million baht.
It is not clear whether the man was x-rayed or customs officials simply waited for the drugs to ’emerge’ on their own.
The suspect has been handed over to Suvarnabhumi Airport Police Station for prosecution.
According to the Director General of Customs, officers have been instructed to ramp up monitoring for drug smugglers, in line with the government’s anti-drug policy.
Thirach Attanawanich adds that as a result of increased checks, between October 1, 2023 and March 25, 2024, his department carried out 74 drug seizures, with a total value of over 412 million baht approximately.
This compares to 185 arrests and drug seizures worth a total of 1.17 billion baht in the 1 year period between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023.
SOURCE: Khaosod English
