Tourist lured into smuggling clothes laced with drugs

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.

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 Itthisarnronnachai, 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 yesterday.

Police said the clothes had been coated with crystal methamphetamine – known as ice. Four bags of the drug were also found, adding up to 2.2kg in total.

“It’s a never-seen-before method, luring tourists to traffic drugs out of the country,” Itthipol added.

Demand for meth is surging in the region at a time when authorities are attempting to crack down on the lucrative business. 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 10kg of ice and ice-coated clothing in the suspect’s apartment.