A police lieutenant colonel and nine other suspects have been arrested in a major drug trafficking crackdown following a year-long investigation, with authorities seizing or freezing assets worth more than 16 million baht.
The arrests were made during an operation last week in Chiang Rai and Loei provinces.
The operation was launched under Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul's "War on Drugs" policy, to take action against state officials involved in, assisting or supporting drug trafficking networks.
The investigation started from arrests in May last year, when authorities seized 529 kilogrammes of ketamine in Chiang Rai.
Three months later, immigration officers arrested one of the alleged ringleaders upon entering Thailand.
Last week, on June 22, investigators arrested the police lieutenant colonel in Loei.
Authorities alleged the officer leaked confidential government information to the network and helped suspects evade prosecution. Police said the suspect initially confessed to all charges.
During a search of the officer's workplace, authorities also found 75 methamphetamine pills hidden in a desk drawer.
The following day, officers arrested another suspect in Loei, allegedly responsible for receiving money transfers and paying transport fees for the network.
