Japanese tourist lured by travel freebies into smuggling meth

BANGKOK: An Iranian man has been arrested after using travel freebies to lure an unsuspecting Japanese tourist into smuggling a bag of clothes laced with crystal meth, Thai police said yesterday.

The tourist, whose name has not been disclosed, found the deal on a travel website that offered free getaways to Thailand, Shanghai and Frankfurt, complete with thousands in spending money.

But after arriving in Thailand last week, he was handed ‘suspicious’ luggage for his next trip to Shanghai, Itthipol It this a rn ron na ch ai, deputy chief of Thailand’s immigration department, told reporters.

“Inside the bag, he found clothes that felt more solid than usual. He then contacted the Japanese embassy,” Itthipol said.

Police said the clothes had been coated with crystal methamphetamine — known as Ice. Four bags of the drug were also found, adding up to 2.2 kg in total. “It’s a never-seen-before method, luring tourists to traffick drugs out of the country,” Itthipol added.

Police said the Iranian national was arrested when he went to retrieve the luggage after the Japanese man pretended to be sick and said he wanted to cancel the trip.

They found 10 kg of Ice and Icecoated clothing in the suspect’s apartment. “We will pursue this case and investigate networks in Thailand and Japan to take down this scam,” Itthipol said.