A couple involved in a transnational drug network have been arrested in Satun following the seizure of 1,199 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine in Surat Thani last week.
Border patrol, immigration and local police from Satun and Surat Thani provinces converged on a house in tambon Jaebilang in Muang district of Satun province on Friday. They arrested Wan-aen Hempandan, 48, and his wife Danab Yawang, 43 .
The raid followed the seizure of 1,199 kilogrammes of crystal methamphetamine in Phun Phin district of Surat Thani on July 11.
Police said the arrested couple's job was to deliver the drugs by boat to a major agent in Malaysia. Mr Wan-aen would drive the boat, and his wife would handle the money transfers, police said.
The couple allegedly admitted they had smuggled crystal meth to Malaysia on four previous occasions, more than 100kg each time. They were lined up to deliver the latest, largest consignment, but it was intercepted by police.
The two arrests brought the total number of alleged members of the drug network in custody to eight.
On July 11, about two tonnes of crystal meth was seized in Surat Thani.
It was in 30 black plastic bags hidden under sacks of cow dung on the back of a six-wheel truck. The bags contained a total of 1,199kg of the drug, also known as ice, with a street value of about 600 million baht.
Two men were arrested - Suvit Nungsong, 43 and Somsak Sunthornnon, 56, from Trang province.
Mr Suvit, the lorry driver, allegedly admitted he was being paid 100,000 baht to pick up the drugs in Samut Sakhon province and deliver them to tambon Che Libang in Muang district of Satun. Somporn Chaipakdee, 50, also fromTrang, was subsequently arrested.
On Thursday, Pol Gen Suchart Teerasawat, a deputy national police chief, led a team to arrest Santi Tamrawong, 34, in Chiang Mai.
The man, a resident of Bangkok, was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by the Surat Thani provincial court for colluding in drug smuggling. Police later arrested a woman suspect, Orathai Huaiyua, 31, in Chiang Rai province.
The extended investigation led to the arrest of another woman in Satun. They were all allegedly involved with the 1,199 kg of crystal meth seized in Surat Thani, which was to be smuggled to Malaysia.
Santi Tamrawong, 34, a suspect in the smuggling of crystal meth to Malaysia arrested in Chiang Mai arrives in Phun Phin district of Surat Thani for interrogation on Thursday. (Photo: Supapong Chaolan)