A man and his wife, masquerading as farm rat catchers, were apprehended by police in Ban Fang district of a northeastern province, with over 300,000 speed pills in their possession. Police disclosed that a bribe of 500,000 baht was offered to secure their release.
Jinda Thaochalee, aged 41, and his wife Rungthip Sakunphon, aged 36, were detained as officers seized 340,000 speed pills, informed Pol Col Thanomsit Wongwijarn, the deputy provincial police chief, on Saturday.
Authorities became suspicious when they noticed a man behaving oddly inside a black pickup truck with Kalasin license plates near the Wiwektham forest temple in tambon Nong Bua during a routine patrol. The man claimed to be rat hunting, and hunting equipment was found in his vehicle. However, his nervous demeanor caught the officers’ attention.
Upon requesting to search the vehicle, they discovered 20,000 hidden speed pills inside. According to the officers, the drugs were intended for delivery to another dealer. The suspect was then escorted to the Ban Fang police station for further interrogation.
During questioning, Mr. Jinda confessed to possessing more speed pills at his rented residence, where his wife was looking after them.
Following the suspect’s admission, police proceeded to search the house where they uncovered an additional 320,000 pills. Attempting to bribe the arresting team, Mr. Jinda offered a sum of 500,000 baht in cash, to which the officers feigned acceptance. However, upon receiving the bribe, they promptly detained him and his wife, along with the pills, the bribe money, and the pickup, as detailed by Pol Col Thanomsit.
Investigators revealed that Mr. Jinda had been procuring drugs from a trafficker in Laos in batches of 400,000 pills each time. He facilitated distribution by strategically placing them at designated locations, marked with rat-catching tools as signals for dealers to collect them.
According to his confession, he was paid 200,000 baht for each delivery and had completed three such transactions.
The couple remained in police custody pending further legal proceedings, while authorities continued their investigation to apprehend other individuals involved.
