BERNAMA filepic
KUALA LUMPUR: A Malaysian man arrested with 75kg of ketamine in Thailand last week is suspected to be a courier for a cross-border drug syndicate.
Bukit Aman Narcotics Crime Investigation Department (NCID) director Datuk Hussein Omar Khan (pic) said they were informed of the 25-year-old man’s arrest by the Royal Thai Police.
"The man was arrested at a roadblock in Chumphon province on Nov 6, and 75kg of ketamine was found in the car he was driving.
"Checks found that the man, who is from the northern region of the country, has four previous offences,” he said when contacted here on Monday (Nov 10).
Thai media recently reported that a suspect was detained in an operation by the Narcotics Suppression Bureau and Chumphon Provincial Police at a roadbloack in Chumphon Province in Southern Thailand.
During the roadblock, an X-ray machine revealed a hidden compartment in the back of a car with Malaysian registration plates.
It was reported that inspection of the car found vacuum-sealed plastic packages containing 75kg of ketamine, valued at an estimated 70 million baht (about RM9mil) in the compartment.
The suspect reportedly said he had been hired by an unknown individual to drive the car from Bangkok to Malaysia for a RM5,000 fee, but claimed he did not know the vehicle contained illegal substances.
The suspect was arrested for possessing and selling Category 2 psychotropic substances (ketamine) without permission for commercial purposes, which could spread the substance among the public, the media reports added. – Bernama
