Fourth suspect in TG cabin crew drug case detained in Phayao

A fourth suspect, allegedly involved in the THAI cabin crew member’s drug case, was arrested by drug squad officers in the northern province of Phayao yesterday.

Police allege that the suspect, identified only as ‘Ekawit’, was responsible for concealing the heroin in the linings of elephant tote bags, which were eventually delivered to the detained Hmong man, identified as ‘Uthai’.

After receiving a package of 12 elephant tote bags containing heroin from Ekawit, Uthai boarded a tour bus to Bangkok for a pre-arranged appointment with the driver of a black sedan. On June 22, he was driven to the condominium in Bang Na where the TG cabin crew member, ‘Meena’, was living.

The package was placed on a counter in the lobby of the condominium. It was subsequently picked up by Meena and packed in her suitcase for a flight to Melbourne, Australia, on June 25.

A second package containing elephant tote bags was delivered by Uthai to an address in Soi Sua Yai Uthit in Bangkok, after which he took a tour bus to Ayutthaya and eventually back to Phayao province, where he was detained by police.

Drug squad officers investigating the case claim that they have discovered that two amounts, of 200,000 baht and 800,000 baht, had been transferred to the bank account of Uthai’s wife.

Four suspects allegedly linked to the case in Australia are now in Thai police custody. Three have been identified as Uthai, ‘Nanthawat’ and Ekawit. The identity of the fourth, the driver who took Uthai to Meena’s condominium, has not yet been disclosed by the police.

Two other drug suspects, ‘Arthit’ and his Laotian wife, ‘Passaporn’, who were arrested in Loei province together with several elephant tote bags, have denied any connection with Meena’s drug case.