A major Vietnamese drug suspect wanted in his home country has been arrested in Bangkok after one year on the run.
Nguyen Tuan Thanh, 33, was apprehended at a condominium in Watthana district, Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboon, secretary-general of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), said on Friday.
The arrest came after the ONCB received information from the Counter-Narcotics Police Department under the Ministry of Public Security in Vietnam that Thanh had fled to Thailand to evade capture on drug charges.
A warrant for his arrest was issued on June 6 last year following the seizure of 200 kilogrammes of tobacco leaves coated with ADB-Butinaca, a synthetic cannabinoid compound sold as a designer drug, on Sept 22, 2022. Seven drug suspects were arrested, all of whom implicated Thanh in the illicit drug production and trade.
Vietnamese authorities sought cooperation from the ONCB to arrest him after learning that he had gone into hiding in Thailand.
