The intended recipient of heroin found in the luggage of a Thai flight attendant in Australia has been partly identified, while Thai authorities are attempting to locate the car that delivered the drugs to the woman’s residence in Bangkok.
The drugs were to be delivered to a woman identified by the Australian Federal Police by the nickname “Dear”, and the delivery point was a hotel, according to Kanisorn Papeeranon, director of the Narcotics Law Enforcement Bureau.
The information was disclosed during questioning of the attendant identified only as Meena, 26, by Australian police. It is not known whether Dear is a Thai national or foreigner.
The Narcotics Law Enforcement Bureau is a unit of the Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
The flight attendant was arrested at Melbourne Airport last Thursday after Australian Border Force officers found 1.8 kilogrammes of heroin concealed in two of 12 elephant tote bags in her luggage.
She has been remanded in custody in Melbourne and could face up to 25 years in prison for drug trafficking. Her first court appearance has been scheduled for Sept 14.
PM passes judgement
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, meanwhile, appears to have concluded that the flight attendant knew she was carrying drugs, something investigators have said is not yet clear.
He described the smuggling attempt as “very short-sighted and not clever”, noting that Australian authorities routinely screen arriving baggage with sniffer dogs.
“There was no chance of getting through. I don’t know why she thought this would work. It was a very short-sighted decision, and now the consequences will be long-lasting,” he said on Thursday.
Heroin ‘originated outside Thailand’
ONCB spokeswoman Areepak Ngernbumrung said investigators have established that the heroin originated abroad before entering Thailand.
“Because heroin is not produced domestically, traffickers routinely use Thailand as a transit and repackaging point before sending shipments overseas,” she said, adding that officials were tracing the route used by the network.
Thai and Australian drug busters are working together to identify the syndicate behind the shipment by trying to trace the source of the package that was delivered to Ms Meena’s condominium on June 22.
She had earlier agreed in an online chat with a person using the name “Rose Rose” to deliver a dozen elephant-print tote bags to Australia for a fee of 8,800 baht.
Ms Meena told investigators that someone connected to “Rose Rose” was due to collect the parcel at a hotel in Melbourne.
Officials are examining Ms Meena’s mobile phone to establish how contact with the recipient was arranged.
US DEA helping
Mr Kanisorn said Thai authorities were also working with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, to identify the owner of the “Rose Rose” account, which has since been deleted. The Thailand office of the US Drug Enforcement Administration is assisting the investigation.
Meanwhile, the search continues for the driver who dropped the parcel at Ms Meena’s building. The man told security guards that he was from Grab, according to Mr Kanisorn.
The name and address of the sender were not on the package, so investigators are reviewing CCTV footage to identify the driver and question him.
Mr Kanisorn said authorities were also checking whether he worked for Grab as claimed.
Shipped from Loei
The ONCB, meanwhile, said it had seized 24.4 kilogrammes of heroin concealed in parcels destined for Australia and Taiwan during operations in Bangkok linked to a separate trafficking network.
Investigators said the Australian-bound shipments were reportedly directed by a Thai fugitive wanted on fraud charges who is believed to be operating from Australia.
The seized packages were sent from Loei. The northeastern province was also the origin of six kilogrammes of heroin intercepted in Phuket in May.
The heroin, in plastic packs sewn into silk blouses, had been sent to a Thai flight attendant who lived in Phuket and who advertised his courier services online.
He told police he had no idea the package contained drugs.
