Indian man held on drug financing charges
POLICE this morning (March 6) raided an apartment in Sukhumvit soi 39 and arrested a Thai-born Indian on the charges of financing drug trafficking but the suspect has flatly denied being involved, Thai News Agency reported.
A 6 a.m. Deputy National Police Chief Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat Sriworakhan and Pol Lt Gen Sommai Kongwichaisuk, head of Narcotics Suppression Bureau, raided Mr Harpreet Singh’s apartment at Retro 39, number 1/10 in Sukhumvit soi 39, and arrested him under an arrest warrant stemming from further investigation of the seizing of 400 kilograms of Ice (crystal methamphetamine) on July 31, 2017.
Police said their investigation showed that Mr Harpreet, who is of Indian descent, is an executive level leader of this drug network, being its financier.
This drug trafficking network smuggled drugs from the Northeast to the Central and Southern regions and also sent it overseas (Malaysia).
Police said Mr Harpreet’s business was to sell garments, rent out shops and rooms and lend money, but this was a façade as their investigation showed that he was linked to Yaitha drug network in northeastern Khon Kaen province, whose members were arrested last August.
His arrest is part of coordinated raids on 30 targets nationwide, with 3 of them being major ones, and assets worth 160 million baht seized.
Police added that Mr Harpreet still denies all the charges and maintains that he is not linked to drug trafficking in anyway.
However, police said they have filed charges of conspiring and colluding in trafficking in type one drugs, with these being amphetamines and Ice.
Pol. Gen. Chalermkiat said police have clear evidence against the suspect, particularly documentary evidence, showing the money trail and indicating that the suspect is an important figure at the executive level, having transferred 3 million baht to drug traffickers.
He has been taken to the police headquarters for further questioning.
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Top: Police questioning the suspect at his apartment in Sukhumvit soi 39. Photo: Thai News Agency
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