SONGKHLA -- A man previously convicted of murder and his girlfriend, the former wife of a policeman, were arrested on Tuesday in Hat Yai district with 128,000 methamphetamine pills and 25.27 grammes of crystal methamphetamine in their possession.
The arrest and drug seizure were made during a raid on house No.109/11 in Soi Kaeophormthong in the Hat Yai Municipality.
Pol Lt Col Thanawat Sengsui, commander of the Provincial Police Region 9's drug suppression unit, said the house had been used for storing drugs intended for sale to clients in Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat provinces.
He identified the two suspects as Banharn Pongchana, 41, and his girlfriend Kittiya Thiraporn, 31.
The two allegedly said they ordered the drugs from a person called Hia, whose real name and surname were not known, in Chiang Mai's Chiang Dao district.
Pol Lt Col Thanawat said Banharn was previously convicted of murder, sentenced to life and held in the Songkhla prison. While in the prison he was found to be involved in a drug dealing network and was transferred to Khao Bin prison for drug convicts in Ratchaburi province.
He was released three months ago, and then met Ms Kittiya, the former wife of a police officer, who had been involved in the drug trade.
Allegedly, the two built a network which ordered drugs from the North and sold them to clients in Songkhla and the three southern border provinces, Pol Lt Col Thanawat said.