BANGKOK: (Bernama) Thai authorities have seized 24.38 kilogrammes (kg) of heroin concealed in five parcels containing local handicrafts, silk clothing, coffee sachets and winter jackets bound for Australia and Taiwan.
Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Secretary-General Police Major General Suriya Singhakamol said the seizure, carried out in a joint operation with partner agencies, began on June 30 with the interception of two parcels containing 8.17kg of heroin concealed in local handicrafts and destined for Australia.
"Investigators traced the parcels to Loei province, in northeastern Thailand, leading to further inspections that uncovered three more parcels already dispatched to Bangkok,” he said in a statement on Thursday (July 2).
Authorities subsequently intercepted two parcels in Bang Kapi, Bangkok, containing 6.23kg of heroin hidden in silk clothing and bound for Taiwan, as well as another parcel in Ratchathewi containing 9.98kg of heroin concealed in coffee sachets and winter jackets destined for Australia, he said.
Suriya said a Thai man, wanted in Tak province on fraud charges, had been identified as the suspected mastermind behind the Australia-bound shipments. He is believed to have coordinated the operation from Australia.
He said follow-up raids in Loei and Nakhon Phanom on hursday led to the questioning of a suspect, who admitted that he and his Lao wife had sent the parcels on two occasions after collecting them from a Lao national.
The payments for the services were allegedly transferred to his wife's bank account.
"Investigations will continue to dismantle the network and prosecute everyone involved,” he said. - Bernama
