THAI security authorities believe that the recent arrest of a Malaysian who was highly wanted for alleged international drug trafficking will curb the circulation of certain key drugs in their country’s market by about 70%.
The suspect has been identified as Ong Gim Wah, reported the Bangkok Post. The 39-year-old was nabbed in Laos, where he was hiding, in a joint Thai-Lao operation on December 29.
The newspaper reported that the Thai authorities had put up a reward of 1 million baht (RM134,000) to the public for his capture.
Ong is said to have played a key role in procuring drugs and coordinating with drug syndicates in the Golden Triangle region since 2006, it said.
The Golden Triangle is said to be a mountainous area with numerous impenetrable drug-trafficking corridors, straddling between Thailand, Myanmar and Laos.
Thailand’s assistant police chief Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboon was quoted as saying that Ong’s arrest could limit the drug trade involving crystal meth, heroin and cocaine by as much as 70%.
The police also seized more than 4.4 tonnes of meth pills, said Panurat, who is secretary-general of Thailand’s Office of the Narcotics Control Board (ONCB).
The ONCB is now liaising with authorities in Laos to extradite Ong, who is described as a key member of a transnational drug syndicate, to Thailand.
Ong is one of 48 drug suspects wanted by Thailand who have been hiding out in neighbouring Laos.
The office of Laos’ chief of police has been cooperating with Thailand’s Public Security Ministry to weed out and arrest the suspects, to eventually bring them to Thailand to face the due process of the courts.
Ong's arrest was part of a drug suppression campaign held between October and December last year.
It was set in motion in line with the Thai government’s "Quick Win" policies with the target of resolving the country’s drug problems within a year.
Earlier this week, Panurat was reported to have said that investigators had identified the Malaysian as the main suspect behind a major drug bust in Thailand’s Ratchaburi province in June last year.
The raid saw the seizure of 998kg of crystal methamphetamine and the arrest of seven suspects.
An arrest warrant was subsequently issued on Ong in August.
Later, Thai authorities seized the Malaysian man’s extensive assets, including a land plot with a building, two condominiums, three yachts, two cars, three motorbikes, firearms, cash, and other valuables, spread across Bangkok, Trat, Chiang Rai, and Chon Buri.
The total estimated value of the seized assets was reported to be 85 million baht (RM11.4 million). – The Vibes, January 5, 2024
