Police have arrested a 70-year-old man after seizing 22 kilogrammes of heroin stuffed into boxes of sunscreen at a parcel delivery counter in Nong Khai. The drugs were reportedly bound for South Korea via Bangkok.
Somphong Lothisen is believed to be part of a transnational drug trafficking gang, said Pol Lt Gen Sarayut Sanguanphokhai, commissioner of Provincial Police Region 4.
Investigators earlier arrested some other members of the gang and seized drugs destined for South Korea. They subsequently learned that more drugs were to be sent from Tha Bo, near the border with Laos in Nong Khai, to a gang member in Bangkok before being shipped abroad.
Officers closely monitored the movements of suspects in the northeastern province. When Mr Somphong arrived at a local Home Fresh shop in Tha Bo, police showed up and asked to inspect his parcel.
The search revealed 213 sunscreen boxes that had heroin stuffed inside them. The drugs weighed 22 kilogrammes in total, said Pol Lt Gen Sarayut.
The 70-year-old suspect has been charged with illegal possession of heroin for sale. He was handed over to the Tha Bo police station for legal action.
During questioning, Mr Somphong told police that he had been hired by a person in Laos for 4,000 baht to send the parcel to a recipient in Bangkok.
Officers plan to continue their investigation to arrest others involved.
Small sachets of heroin were found inside boxes of sunscreen seized from a man in Tha Bo district of Nong Khai. (Photo supplied/Wassayos Ngamkham)