The Judicial Commission will launch a serious disciplinary probe against Criminal Court judges who interfered with the police's attempt to arrest Senator Upakit Pachariyangkul in connection with a major drug trafficking bust last year.
The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by Supreme Court president Chotiwat Luengprasert on Monday, according to an informed source on Tuesday.
Last year on Oct 3, the police sought an arrest warrant for Mr Upakit after investigators found a link between the senator, his son-in-law Din Yung Chulathura, and several drug traffickers from Myanmar who the police had just busted earlier.
However, the arrest warrant was cancelled on the same day it was approved, with the court saying as a senator, Mr Upakit did not appear to be a flight risk.
The cancellation of the arrest warrant was followed by an order to transfer four police officials handling the drug case, including Pol Lt Gen Manapong Wongpiwat, an inspector attached to Phayathai police station.
Pol Lt Gen Manapong later spilled the beans in an open letter which detailed what happened in court.
The arrest warrant's cancellation was approved by the Criminal Court's chief judge -- one among four judges named in a probe on the case. However, the name of said judge was not discussed in Monday's meeting, the source said.