Vietnamese held in Bangkok over Japan-bound meth network

A Vietnamese national is being held in custody by Bang Yi Khan police in Bangkok on suspicion of involvement in a transnational drug trafficking network that uses couriers to smuggle illegal narcotics into Japan.

The arrest of Nguyen Thian Hao at his accommodation in the Sathorn area yesterday followed the mid-July seizure in the Pinklao area of numerous jars of tamarind paste containing crystal methamphetamine, which were intended to be delivered to Japan through hired couriers.

Evidence found at the Pinklao condominium implicates Nguyen in the financial operations of the drug network, said Pol Lt-Gen Sayam Boonsom, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau.

Sayam said the suspect had made several cash withdrawals from his bank accounts, amounting to hundreds of thousands of baht, before leaving for Vietnam on July 14. He returned to Bangkok on July 25 and was arrested by police on Monday.

He said police examined the suspect’s notebook computer and smartphones and discovered that Nguyen worked as an administrator for more than 20 online gambling websites in Vietnam.

The suspect denied any involvement in drug trafficking, but said he had only withdrawn money from bank accounts as instructed by his employer.

Pol Lt-Gen Sayam said the same drug trafficking network might also be linked to the case of a Thai woman who was detained by Japanese immigration authorities upon arrival in Japan last week after instant coffee packets containing crystal methamphetamine were found in her luggage.