A Thai man in Udon Thani forgave his friend after being tricked into trafficking nearly 800,000 tablets of methamphetamine, known locally as Yaba.
Officers from Border Patrol Police Division 24 announced details of the operation on June 8, confirming the arrest of two men, 38 year old Chatchai and 36 Preedee in Nong Saeng district.
The arrests followed a raid at a rubber plantation at around 3am on June 7 where officers seized 769,000 Yaba tablets along with two mobile phones for further investigation.
The operation stemmed from an earlier arrest on April 24, when police detained a trafficker in Sakon Nakhon province with 2.8 million Yaba tablets. The suspect provided information on a wider network, and Chatchai was found to be a member of the gang. This led officers to closely monitor him.
Police said they tracked the Chatchai’s vehicle, a bronze-grey Suzuki Swift, after detecting movements consistent with drug transport activity from Nakhon Phanom province. Officers later stopped the car as it was heading towards the Chatchai’s residence but found Preedee driving.
Preedee told officers he had been asked by his friend, Chatchai, to deliver a package to a cottage in a mountain forest area. He then led police to the location, where the drugs were discovered.
Chatchai initially fled into the forest but was later arrested after police contacted his mother to convince him to surrender himself.
Police said Chatchai admitted involvement in drug trafficking, stating he had joined a network after making friend with gang members while previously imprisoned.
He told officers he had carried out similar activities in the past and was paid 20,000 baht for the latest delivery. The accused also told police he intended to share 10,000 baht with Preedee.
Preedee insisted that he had never known about Chatchai’s involvement in drug trafficking, and that he had not realised the parcel contained drugs until he was arrested.
However, he said that he was not angry with his friend because Chatchai had supported his family and taken his family members to hospital, as he did not have a car.
According to ThaiRath, both men became emotional during questioning and embraced afterwards. Despite his innocence, Preedee would still face punishment for the crime.
Police are continuing their investigation into the drug bust in Udon Thani and the wider trafficking network.
The story Thai man embraces friend who gets him arrested for drug run as seen on Thaiger News.
