ID :
405348
Thu, 04/28/2016 - 12:01
Auther :

Bangkok Diary: Nothing To Deter Malaysian Drug Mules

By Mohd Haikal Mohd Isa BANGKOK, April 28 (Bernama) -- The arrest of 24 Malaysian drug mules in three drug smuggling cases within a month goes to show that Malaysians are undeterred when given a chance to earn quick money. Time and again the media has reported that many Malaysian drug mules arrested in Thailand could be incarcerated up to 50 years, yet for most the rewards are greater than the risks. Sadly, for the families of those who are caught, it is a tragic situation to know that their child, sibling or relatives will spend much of their adult life in prison. "I don't know of the real content in the bag, I only receive US$ 128 (RM500) for each bag that is said to contain coffee or biscuits": This is what a drug mule admitted to a Malaysian investigator a day after he was detained by the Thai police. The investigator admitted that it is hard to believe that these people were not aware of the bag's content. In the first case on March 23, 15 Malaysians were detained by the Thai authorities at the Hualamphong railway station in Bangkok after they boarded a train to Butterworth. The police confiscated the drug bags that in total contained 226kg of "Ice" and 8kg of Heroin packed in packages that appeared like coffee sachets or biscuits in wrappers to hoodwink the authorities. There were actually another six more drug mules on the same train. After learning that 14 of the group members had been arrested earlier, they fled leaving behind the drug consignment on the same train that made a stop at Chumphon. However, it was too late. The Thai police were already on their trail and several hours later the police swooped a van in Phattalung, in south Thailand, and detained the six working for the same syndicate. The Malaysian investigator who spoke on the condition of anonymity told Bernama, "the 21 Malaysians, all in their 20s and 30s could face a jail sentence between 40 to 50 years in Thailand if they are found guilty". Immigration records indicated most of the 21 Malaysians arrested entered the country for the first time. "We have strong evidence to charge the 21 Malaysians," said Police Col. Puttidej Bunkrapue of the Thai Railway Police to Bernama recently. His statement has probably confirmed the fate of those arrested. In an interview with Bernama he said the three Thai masterminds behind the drug smuggling ring had managed to slip through. It is the same old script with the drug mules getting caught and the masterminds escaping. However, Puttidej is confident that the days of freedom for the trio are numbered. In the second case, a week after the arrest of 21 Malaysians, another two Malaysians drug mules ended up in the police dragnet in Sadao, in south Thailand when they made an attempt to smuggle 282kg of Methapethamine or "Ice" in two cars. According to the police, the duo drove to the Laos-Thai border to pick up the drug supply and made their way to the south to get back to Malaysia when they were caught. The middle-aged Malaysians are from Perlis and Perak respectively. The latest on April 18, the third case, a Malaysian was detained at the Danok immigration checkpoint with 520kg of ganja in his lorry carrying furniture. "The man admitted of receiving US$256 (RM1,000) for collecting the ganja from Hat Yai and have it delivered in Kuala Lumpur," according to Thai Armed Forces' Fifth Infantry Chief Kol Paisan Nusang. The man admitted that he had done it many time before. Will Malaysians ever learn? -- BERNAMA

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