CHUMPHON: A former drug convict and two other accomplices have been arrested for trafficking more than 250 kilogrammes of dried marijuana to the southern region.
Provincial governor Narong Polla-ead on Monday announced the arrest of Supat Dusita, Sang Somungsae and Winai Thaosorn on Sunday and said all were charged with narcotic possession.
A background check found that Mr Supat had been imprisoned for a drug charge in Phatthalung province in 2011, the governor added but did not say when he was released.
Mr Supat, 33, was arrested after police and soldiers saw a car suddenly making a U-turn before reaching a checkpoint in Pathiu district on Sunday. Authorities followed the vehicle and found it at a resort about five kilometres away from the checkpoint.
A car search found 257kg of ganja in the storage compartment.
Mr Supat said he and two other colleagues were hired for 100,000 baht to take the drug from Nakhon Phanom province to Hat Yai district in Songkhla province, according to the governor.
Mr Sang, 43, and Mr Winai, 32, were an advance team on another pickup truck for security clearance and the two were apprehended at a petrol station, he added.
