Bangkok, Aug 16 (TNA) – Thai authorities have arrested four Hong Kong nationals at Suvarnabhumi Airport for attempting to smuggle 14 kilograms of heroin hidden inside snack boxes, police said on Friday.
The seizure was the result of a joint operation between the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), Customs Department, and Suvarnabhumi Airport Authority, according to Pol Lt Gen Phanurat Lakboon, secretary-general of the ONCB.
“Following a tip-off from Hong Kong law enforcement, we tracked the movements of this four-person syndicate and identified them as key players in a transnational drug trafficking operation,” said Pol Lt Gen Phanurat.
The suspects had been under surveillance for several days after arriving in Thailand and checking into hotels in the Huai Khwang and Ramkhamhaeng districts of Bangkok.
On August 14, authorities observed one of the suspects picking up a suspicious suitcase from a car near a hotel in Huai Khwang. The following day, all four suspects made their way to Suvarnabhumi Airport.
“When they arrived at the airport, the suspects went to the restroom together, which led us to believe that they were exchanging the drugs,” said Pol Lt Gen Phanurat.
“We intercepted them and conducted a search, discovering 40 blocks of heroin, weighing approximately 14 kilograms, concealed within snack boxes inside a suitcase.”
Pol Lt Gen Phanurat noted that this was the second time in recent months that Thai authorities had disrupted a heroin smuggling attempt by a Hong Kong syndicate. In June, a similar operation led to the seizure of 14 kilograms of heroin at Suvarnabhumi Airport. -819 (TNA)
