NARATHIWAT, Nov 5 (TNA) – Thai police have detained a prominent Malaysian singer and five others after seizing more than 6,000 methamphetamine pills in a hotel room in Thailand’s southern border town of Sungai Kolok, officials said.
The 28-year-old female singer, whose name was withheld by authorities, drew crowds of more than 100 fans and relatives from Malaysia’s Kelantan state who gathered outside the Sungai Kolok police station to show support.
Pol. Lt. Col. Niti Suksant deployed over 50 special operations officers to control the crowd as the suspects were transported to the Narathiwat Provincial Court on Monday (Nov4). All six suspects wore head covering and dark sunglasses to conceal their identities during the transfer.
The case has attracted significant attention in Malaysia, with plain-clothes Malaysian police officers and media personnel traveling across the border to monitor developments.
Malaysian authorities have been tracking this group’s drug-related activities for some time, said a Malaysian police source.
All six suspects tested positive for methamphetamine use, according to police. They face charges of possession of Category 1 narcotics with intent to distribute and illegal drug use. Two of the suspects face additional charges of illegal entry into Thailand.
The arrests were made on November 1 following a raid on a local hotel room where police discovered 6,060 methamphetamine pills. None of the suspects have admitted ownership of the drugs, police said. – 819 (TNA)
