Thai cops nab S. Korean drug lord after tip from embassy

A South Korean drug lord has been nabbed by the authorities over his alleged links to the international drug trade.

Immigration Bureau chief Police Lt-Gen Sompong Chingduang said his officers arrested the 48-year-old, identified only as Sangjae, in Pathum Thani following a tip-off from the South Korean embassy.

The Bangkok Post reports that embassy officials said the suspect was believed to be involved in smuggling drugs from Thailand to South Korea.

He fled to Thailand from his home country just before the Covid-19 pandemic began and Immigration checks confirmed his entry.

Records also showed that he gave an address in Khon Kaen province, which is some 450km northeast of here.

Upon learning of his location, Immigration officers then raided a house he was believed to be staying in the outskirts of Khon Kaen, but Sangjae managed to give the authorities the slip.

Police managed to identify a woman believed to be his girlfriend and with the information she provided, they eventually arrested him at a high-end condominium in Pathum Thani, north of the capital.

The suspect also faces a charge of overstaying his visa for 294 days up to Wednesday.

Meanwhile, deputy national police chief Police Lt-Gen Preecha Charoensahayanon led a team of officers in raiding the operations centre of an online gambling syndicate at a house here.

The raid was conducted after police learned that a syndicate of Chinese nationals was running gambling websites in the city.

The Post said the syndicate operated under an online gaming company called NUTS GAMETH, which collected money from punters. The syndicate had over 30 million baht in circulation each month.

Police said 12 people were arrested, with five of them being Chinese nationals and the rest were locals hired as call centre operators.

The alleged leader of the syndicate was a Chinese national. Together with his Thai girlfriend, they took care of the company’s finances and were the website’s administrator.