Hong Kong Chinese gang arrested for smuggling heroin hidden in candy boxes

Arrest of 4 Hong Kong Chinese gang members at Suvarnabhumi Airport , smuggling 14 kg of heroin hidden in a box of snacks inside a suitcase. Pol. Lt. Gen. Panurat Lakboon, Secretary-General of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), together with the Customs Department and Suvarnabhumi Airport, held a press conference announcing the arrest of four Hong Kong suspects along with approximately 14 kilograms of heroin hidden in a snack box inside a suitcase, which was being prepared to depart for Hong Kong. The ONCB Secretary-General said that from the joint investigation between the ONCB and the Hong Kong Drug Suppression Police, there was a movement of a group of 4 Hong Kong drug smugglers who acted as drug coordinators, drug controllers and drug transporters. They were involved in smuggling heroin from Thailand to Hong Kong. Therefore, they are closely monitoring the behavior of the group of people. Later, it was discovered that the four target groups would travel to Thailand and stay separately at hotels in the Huai Khwang and Ramkhamhaeng areas. Therefore, relevant agencies, including the Narcotics Suppression Bureau, the Customs Department, Suvarnabhumi Airport, the Military Intelligence Unit, and the 1st Army Area Operations Center, were contacted to track them down until the late night of August 14. The suspects who were the coordinators of the drug procurement got out to receive the suspicious suitcases from a sedan car next to the hotel in the Huai Khwang area. It is believed that they contained drugs. On August 15, at approximately 7:00 p.m., the four suspects went to Suvarnabhumi Airport separately. When they arrived at the airport, officers found that the four suspects went to the bathroom together, leading them to believe that the drugs were being delivered to prepare to be transported to Hong Kong. They identified themselves and asked to be searched before inviting them to the X-ray checkpoint. The search results found 40 bars of heroin, weighing a total of approximately 14 kilograms, hidden in a snack box inside a suitcase. All suspects were arrested. The ONCB secretary added that in the past, there had been a network of Hong Kong Chinese who had attempted to smuggle heroin from Thailand to Hong Kong in a similar manner on several occasions. On June 23, officials arrested four Hong Kong Chinese suspects with 14 kilograms of heroin packed in a suitcase, ready to depart for Hong Kong, at Suvarnabhumi Airport as well. Source: Thai News Agency