Cops arrest one in Hua Hin drug raid

B200m in assets seized for review

PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB) police arrested a woman and seized assets worth about 200 million baht believed to be linked to the drug trade after a raid in Hua Hin district yesterday.

Their targets were a man named Sawang and his wife, Wanphen, who were suspected to have ordered drugs to be smuggled into northern Thailand for southward delivery.

When the police arrived, they found Ms Wanphen and about 10 other people at the house. Ms Wanphen said some were her relatives and the others acquaintances from Koh Samui in Surat Thani, who stayed with her in the house.

Mr Sawang was not in the house at the time of the raid. Ms Wanphen said he left for Ratchaburi on a business trip a few days ago and they had not been in contact since then.

The woman admitted she was Mr Sawang’s third common-law wife, but insisted she had nothing to do with the drug trade.

However, police have linked Ms Wanphen to a group of drug couriers arrested in Kamphaeng Phet with more than 5 million methamphetamine pills on March 3. They also found financial transactions and telephone records connecting her with the group.

Mr Sawang is known to the police as a Thai of Hmong origin who lived in the North and had acted as a broker — ordering drugs from producers and providing teams to deliver drugs to clients at various destinations.

Two years ago, he moved to Prachuap Khiri Khan, where he opened a shop selling miscellaneous goods at 20 baht each, which police said is a front for his drug business.

He had prior links to the drug trade — in 2015, police seized his assets, worth about 90 million baht, for examination. However, due to a lack of evidence, they were returned to him.

Mr Sawang has been under police watch for the past two years, after investigators noticed several transactions involving unusually large amounts of money. He is believed to have bought a commercial building for 45 million baht, police said.

Police compiled their case and finally obtained warrants from the Criminal Court to arrest Mr Sawang, his two sons and Ms Wanphen, leading to the raid on their house in Hua Hin.

They also seized assets worth about 200 million baht for examination — including title deeds to 24 houses, a commercial building with five shop fronts, and 12 plots of land, 22 cars and 27 motorcycles.