Bangkok: Police in Huai Khwang in Bangkok arrested two Vietnamese men on October 3rd after a motorcycle-taxi rider reported a suspicious envelope he had been hired to carry to Pattaya, and officers say the parcel contained ketamine.
The arrests were made at room 87/84 on the fourth floor of the G Style condominium on Soi Pracha Rat Bamphen 18. Officers publicly identified the men as Mr. Bui Van Hoan and Mr. Tran Dinh Nhu. Police said items seized in the room included eight bags of ketamine, 15 vape cartridges, two scales, a pill press and other equipment still being examined.
Huai Khwang police said the case began at about 10 a.m., when a 33-year-old taxi rider, identified only as Bank, came to the station. He said an unknown man had hired him to collect a paper envelope and deliver it to Pattaya in Chonburi. At the condominium he noticed a man acting suspiciously and suspected the parcel was illegal, so he asked police to check it.
Bank told officers he had taken an order at about 9 a.m. for a trip to Pattaya. A Vietnamese man then asked him to carry a white document envelope and said someone would collect it on arrival. The envelope felt uneven, more like a thick stack of paper than ordinary documents. He tried to file a daily report at Wang Thonglang police station so the parcel could be opened, but officers there said the pickup point was in Huai Khwang’s area and sent him on.
Huai Khwang investigators opened the envelope and found ketamine, the report said. Officers then went back with the rider. A man came out to collect the parcel, police identified themselves and searched the room, and the man admitted the parcel was his. He was staying there with another Vietnamese man.
Police charged Mr. Tran with possessing a Category 2 psychotropic substance, ketamine, for sale without permission, jointly possessing ketamine for sale, and jointly possessing etomidate, also a Category 2 substance, without permission. Mr. Bui was charged with jointly possessing ketamine for sale, jointly possessing etomidate without permission, and remaining in Thailand after his permission to stay had ended.
Both men and the seized items were handed to Huai Khwang investigators. The drugs and equipment were sent for forensic examination.
Bank said new riders hired to carry parcels should be wary. Opening a customer’s package can break company rules, he said, but anyone uneasy about a job should file a daily police report, or open the parcel only if they are prepared to take responsibility if nothing illegal is found.