Woman allegedly used Line to sell meth

Woman allegedly used Line to sell meth

SAMUT PRAKAN ― Police on Thursday arrested a female food vendor in Bang Phli district suspected of helping her husband buy and sell narcotic drugs via the popular Japanese chat app Line.

The woman was identified as Duang-ruathai Mongkolsin, 24. Police raided and searched her house in a Prem Ruathai housing estate in tambon Bang Chalong at 11am after tip-offs by neighbours that the couple who owned the house had sold methamphetamine for a long time.

The search found 4,800 speed pills contained in 15 bundles hidden under the driver's seat of a pickup truck parked at the house. Other items seized included a 9mm gun with three bullets and three mobile phones, one of which was a smart phone, said Pol Maj Phuwanart Kanchan, investigation inspector at Bang Phli police station.      

Ms Duang-ruathai told police the seized drugs belonged to her husband Tassanai Thonglert, 36, who had left home the previous night and had not been heard from since.   

She said Mr Tassanai was a drug trader, using the Line app on his smart phone to make contact with a male inmate incarcerated on drug convictions in Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya Provincial Prison. He would order meth from the inmate, known only by his nickname Aui, and the drug would be delivered by Aui’s subordinate. 

Her husband also talked to his clients through the popular app to make drug delivery appointments, she said.

Ms Duang-ruathai denied involvement in Mr Tassanai’s illegal business but admitted that she sometimes carried the drug to the clients for him.     

Pol Maj Phuwanart said police were not convinced by Ms Duang-ruathai’s alibi as an ongoing investigation indicated that both the woman and her husband worked together in the drug ring. 

The officer believed Mr Tassanai may have foreseen action from the police and had gone into hiding.        

Ms Duang-ruathai faces charges of conspiring to sell illicit drugs, while an investigation is underway to track down her husband and other people involved in the gang, Pol Maj Phuwanart said. 

Photo by Sutthiwit Chayutvoraken


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