Actress Napapa "Patt" Tantrakul insisted on Friday that she had nothing to do with her husband's alleged involvement in a drug network's money-laundering activities, saying all the money in her bank accounts came from her work.
Actress Napapa 'Patt' Tantrakul arrives at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau to give a statement as a witness in the probe into her husband Akarakit Worarojchroendet's alleged links to money-laundering activities. Apichit Jinakul
Speaking after meeting investigators at the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) on Friday, Napapa said she gave a statement as a witness in a money-laundering case being pursued against Akarakit "Benz Racing" Worarojchroendet, her husband.
She said she was not charged, and neither was she detained or did she have as much as 30 million baht in her bank accounts as previously reported by the media.
The money she declared yesterday to investigators was what she had earned over the past couple of years and had nothing to do with the money the officials are investigating, she said.
"I've been seeing Benz for only about a year, so don't expect me to know everything about my husband. Neither should my husband be expected to know everything about his wife," she said.
She also complained that earlier media reports about her, which she insisted were incorrect, had badly affected her, her family and the family of her husband.
She urged the media to in future check with relevant officials about the information linked to the probe against her husband before publishing anything that could be incorrect.
"I am wondering where the reported 30 million baht came from. I don't even have as much as that in my account and all the money I have is mine.
"Honestly, I don't even understand why I have to come here and explain all this today," she said.
Mr Akarakit is charged with money laundering and conspiracy to launder in connection with the bust of a major drug network run by Lao drug kingpin, Xaysana Keopimpha, who is now in police custody.
Pol Col Somkiat Wansiriwilai, a deputy chief of the NSB's administration division, said Napapa met and was questioned by investigators along with three other witnesses, namely Mr Akarakit's mother, the store manager of his Area 51 shop, and a mechanic working at the shop.
All four witnesses answered the questions clearly and Napapa submitted documents to prove where her money came from before she married Mr Akarakit, said Pol Col Somkiat.
Napapa told investigators she had no information regarding the Lamborghini with the Kor Jor 51 licence plate that police suspect is actually owned by the Xaysana drug network through Mr Akarakit, said Pol Col Somkiat.
The store manager, meanwhile, told investigators that he had only followed Mr Akarakit's instructions when running the shop for him, said Pol Col Somkiat.
In related news, Provincial Police Region 8 yesterday announced success in a major crackdown on drug trafficking, seizing more than 100 million baht in assets from a gang that the police had been after for about a year.
The regional police also detained two suspects, one in Thung Kru district of Bangkok and the other in Nonthaburi's Bang Bua Thong district.
The suspects were identified at a press conference yesterday as Pornchanok Foithong, 24, and Wutthichai Son-in, 34.
Police confirmed that the two were charged with possession and distribution of Type-1 narcotics.
Among the assets seized were gold bars valued at more than four million baht, 8.3 million baht in cash kept in various bank accounts, and 13 plots of land in Nonthaburi, police said.
