A Kenyan man has been arrested at Suvarnabhumi airport after trying to smuggle more than a kilogramme of cocaine inside his stomach.
Glenn Chivasello Ooko, 43, was held after an X-ray revealed 68 small packets inside his stomach.
They were later found to contain 1.2kg of cocaine, Niyom Termsrisuk, secretary-general of the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB), said on Wednesday.
ONCB officers later also arrested a Nigerian man, identified as Osita Joseph Ukpa, 40, who was believed to be a member of the trafficking network, Mr Niyom said.
The arrests were made as part of the “Airport Interdiction Task Force’’ drugs crackdown.
Between October last year and July this year, a total of 43 drug suspects had been arrested — 36 trying to smuggle drugs out of the country and seven bringing them in.
This had resulted in the seizure of 21.68kg of crystal methamphetamine, 24.1kg of heroin, 30,478 ecstasy pills,
25.19kg of cocaine and 32.21kg of ketamine, the ONCB secretary-general said.
The ONCB was exchanging information about transnational drug networks with Japanese police and customs officials, he said.
This cooperation had led to the arrest of people behind the smuggling, mostly members of African drug networks.
Thai tourists to Japan were now being strictly checked to prevent an influx of illicit drugs into the island nation. Several had been arrested in Japan for trafficking. Mr Niyom said.
Thai women were being duped into smuggling. The traffickers asked them to carry goods which later turned out to contain drugs, to Japan, he said.
He warned people not to carry bags or packages for other people. They could end up being arraigned as drug smugglers
