BANGKOK: Police investigators in Loei have detained a husband and wife as Thai authorities widen their investigation into an alleged transnational narcotics network linked to a Thai Airways flight attendant arrested in Australia.
The operation followed the case of a Thai Airways flight attendant identified in Thai reports as Mina, who was detained by Australian police at Melbourne Airport over allegations that about one kilogram of heroin had been concealed in her luggage.
Thai police and related agencies then expanded the inquiry to identify the person who had allegedly sent the parcel linked to the case.
At about 1pm on Thursday (July 2), investigators from Chiang Khan Police Station went to a house in That subdistrict of Chiang Khan district in Loei after learning that Athit, 43, and Thatsaphon, 42, were linked to an address in Pak Tom subdistrict of Chiang Khan. They were not found at the property.
Officers later learned that the pair had been hired to tap rubber in Erawan district. The authorities, including the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) and related police units, then traced Athit to Wat Tham Pha Mak Ho in Sri Songkhram subdistrict of Wang Saphung district, where he was working on a temple roof. He was taken to Erawan Police Station for questioning.
During the initial inquiry, police recorded Athit as admitting that he had been paid to send parcels to Bangkok six times. Investigators reported that three parcels were sent through a parcel service in Chiang Khan, two from Ban That in That subdistrict and one from Erawan district.
He allegedly received 8,000 baht (US$240) for each delivery from a Lao national, with the latest parcel sent on June 28, 2026.
Officers later detained Thatsaphon, 42, a Lao national and Athit’s wife, after a black Mitsubishi Triton pickup with Loei registration was found parked in a rubber plantation in the Pha Nang-Pha Koeng area of Pha In Plaeng subdistrict in Erawan district.
She was taken to Erawan Police Station for questioning and denied any involvement or knowledge of the matter during the preliminary inquiry.
They will then enter the ONCB’s questioning process as investigators seek to expand the case to those who ordered, supported or assisted the alleged operation.
According to the ONCB secretary-general, the case reflects the methods of a transnational drug network that tried to use people at different levels to move narcotics and avoid scrutiny. He noted that close cooperation between Thai and foreign law-enforcement agencies had helped investigators trace possible links inside Thailand.
The ONCB pledged to intensify its investigation and take legal action against anyone found involved at every level.
The agency also plans to strengthen cooperation with foreign authorities to intercept transnational drug networks, disrupt transport routes and cut financial channels under the government’s drug-suppression policy. - The Nation/ANN
