SONGKHLA: A former policeman was held and about 2,500 bottles of cough syrup and 180kg of fresh kratom leaves - frequently mixed to make a drug cocktail - seized from his house in Hat Yai district on Thursday.
Narcotics suppression officers and local police, armed with a court warrant, searched the house on Rat-uthit Road in Hat Yai municipal area. They also seized a loaded 9mm pistol as evidence.
House owner Jirapong Puangkaew, 44, a former senior sergeant-major at Hat Yai police station, was arrested. He was dismissed from the police force last year.
Pol Col Kittichai Sangkhathavorn, superintendent at Hat Yai police, said the arrest followed complaints on social media that a policeman was selling kratom leaves and cough syrup to teenagers in Hat Yai.
A police investigation narrowed it down to the former police officer, not an active officer, Pol Col Kittichai said.
Mr Jirapong was being held in police custody for legal action.