Man arrested for trafficking heroin to Taiwan

Police have arrested a suspected member of a drug ring smuggling heroin to Taiwan hidden in souvenirs carried by couriers posing as visitors returning home to Taipei.

Narcotics Suppression Bureau police, acting on an arrest warrant, detained Penthai Khamhom at a parcel delivery office in Huai Khwang on Wednesday

A search of his house in the same district on Thursday resulted in the seizure of evidence including bank account books.

He was charged with involvement in the trafficking of heroin to Taiwan.

NSB division 1 commander Krit Warit said the suspect denied the allegation, but police had substantive evidence to support the charge.

Mr Penthai allegedly transported heroin hidden in tyres from Chiang Rai to a house in Bangkok's Ramkhamhaeng area for Wichien Ou, a suspect arrested earlier.

Pol Maj Gen Krit said the heroin was later packed in instant noodle packs and talcum powder containers which a Taiwanese traveller carried from Suvarnabhumi airport to Taiwan by plane, as supposed mementos of his visit.

The name of the Taiwanese courier was not given out

Mr Penthai allegedly admitted he was paid 200,000 baht by a Taiwanese man to drive him and the tyres from two houses in Bangkok to the airport. But Pol Maj Gen Krit said police had tracked him for two years before the arrest.

His bank books showed about 10 million baht had passed through his accounts, he said.