NAKHON SAWAN: A deputy police inspector at Nong Pling police station has been sent to jail after he was arrested for selling speed pills.
Pol Sub Lt Sutthirat Amphasawet, 55, was arrested while delivering 40 speed pills to a police spy posing as a customer near his police station in Muang district on Monday, according to his boss, Pol Col Wiriyabundit Sathitsuchart, chief of Nong Pling police station.
Pol Col Wiriyabundit said he had ordered an investigation into police involvement in the illicit drug trade after assuming the station police chief post last month. The probe revealed that Pol Sub Lt Sutthirat, deputy inspector in charge of crime suppression, had been selling speed pills for a long time.
The deputy inspector had used areas inside the police station compound to sell illicit drugs, the police chief said.
The ploice chief coordinated with investigators from Nakhon Sawan provincial police office to hold a joint investigation and gather evidence, leading to the arrest of the officer.
Cash used by a police spy to buy speed pills from a deputy police inspector-turned-drug seller and other items are displayed at Nong Pling police station in Nakhon Sawan following the arrest of the officer on Monday. (Photo: Chalit Poomruang)
An extended investigation led to the arrest of three local residents involved in the selling of illicit drugs with 333 speed pills seized from them, said Pol Col Wiriyabundit.
Before the arrest, the arresting team hatched a plan to send a spy to pose as a customer to buy 40 speed pills from Pol Sub Lt Sutthirat for 1,500 baht. The officer then asked the buyer to collect the drugs at a garage near the police station at 2.30pm on Monday. When the drugs were delivered, the arresting team showed up to arrest him while he was walking to work at the station.
Pol Sub Lt Sutthirat was taken for a urine test for drugs and tested positive. A search of his room at a police flat revealed 42 more speed pills.
During questioning, the officer admitted the pills belonged to him. He said he was addicted to illicit drugs and decided to sell speed pills to earn extra income to finance his expenses. He chose to deliver the speed pills in the compound of the police station because he believed it was a safe location.
Pol Col Wiriyabundit said he has ordered the dismissal of the officer from the police force. The officer had been taken to the provincial court and was later sent to prison.