A Korean national, accused of drug smuggling, was arrested in Pattaya on Monday after it was discovered that he had overstayed his visa by nearly a year.
His arrest came after South Korean customs officials made arrests in four separate drug-smuggling cases.
The suspects in those cases, who were acting as drug couriers, identified a 40-year-old Korean man known only as Jin, who they claimed collected the drugs in Thailand’s Chon Buri and Samut Prakan provinces.
Thai investigators tracked Mr. Jin and learned that he would visit a Korean restaurant in tambon Na Kluea, located in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district, on Monday.
They waited for him and arrested the suspect, who had overstayed his visa by nearly a year.
During questioning, Mr. Jin reportedly admitted to being an under-boss in a South Korean drug-smuggling gang. His role was to supply and transport drugs from Thailand to Korea, using women to conceal the drugs in various parts of their bodies.
According to police, the street value of drugs smuggled into Korea is significantly higher than in Thailand, with crystal meth priced at about 13 million baht per kilogram and ketamine at 5.2 million baht per kilogram.
The investigation is ongoing, police announced during a press conference at the Immigration Bureau in Nonthaburi on Tuesday.
