Ruangsak Suksiengsri, lawyer of the senator’s son-in-law BANGKOK, Jan 30 (TNA, REUTERS) – The Criminal Court has acquitted Myanmar tycoon Tun Min Latt and a son-in-law of senator Upakit Pacharirangkun on charges including drug trafficking, money laundering and transnational crime, ruling that the evidence presented was insufficient.
Prosecutors filed charges against the defendants including Tun Min Latt, a Myanmar businessman, Dean Young Gultula, the senator’s son-in-law and two others as well as the Allure Group (P&E) Co.,Ltd., the electricity supply business.
The charges involved engaging in illicit drugs with serious offences as a criminal organization.
Between February 22 and May 10, 2019, the defendants, along with others who are still at large, allegedly conspired to procure methamphetamine, narcotics (Category1).
The accused individuals were assigned various roles, such as handling deposits, withdrawals, and transfers of money, as well as buying and selling drugs into the accounts of the company.
This was purportedly done under the guise of paying electricity bills for the Provincial Electricity Authority in Chiang Rai’s Mae Sai district.
The funds, allegedly obtained from drug trafficking, were then converted into goods categorized as electricity supplies, exported to Myanmar.
The incidents took place in Khlong Luang District, Pathum Thani Province, and other related areas. The defendants denied charges.
The court found that the main evidence related to the financial trails was not substantial enough to support the charges against the defendants. Therefore, the court has decided to acquit them.
The state prosecutor can appeal against the verdict.
Thai police arrested Tun Min Latt in Bangkok in September 2022, accusing the Myanmar businessman of laundering drug money through electricity trade between the Thai border town of Mae Sai and Tachileik in Myanmar’s Shan State.
Tun Min Latt, who has interests in hotels, energy and mining, and has a history of procuring supplies for the Myanmar military, is a close associate of Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing who seized power in a 2021 coup, three sources told Reuters.
When the Thai police raided his Bangkok condo in 2022, they found assets, including title deeds and bank books belong to Min Aung Hlaing’s daughter and son.
Thai senator Upakit Pacharirangkun was indicted last month for collusion in drug trafficking and money laundering through his association with Tun Min Latt, with the first hearing scheduled for May. -819 (TNA, REUTERS)
